Hanging From Words
by NewHampshireGirl
Summary: A stalker has become obsessed with the team and they have to quickly separate their stalker's reality from fiction, before everyone they love and care about gets hurt. And just what does it all have to do with McGee's new book? Post "Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice". Tony/OC, McGee/Delilah, team as family.
1. Stalked

**Disclaimers:** I do not own NCIS or its characters. Those belong to CBS and show creators. I did create the characters of Leah and Jack DiNozzo.

**Warnings:** Tony/Leah (OC), McGee/Delilah, pro-Bishop, Ellie/Jake, dark, maybe angst later, team as family, Papa Bear Gibbs.

**A/N:** To calm my nerves during the Patriots I started writing this yesterday. Hope you enjoy! Just a small teaser chapter up. Look for a full chapter tomorrow :) Not sure yet what Baby Girl DiNozzo's name is going to be so, suggestions are welcome! **As always thanks for the continued support! **

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><p><strong>Hanging From Words<strong>

After a particularly harsh winter the sun had driven out every college student on the campus of George Washington University to bask in it. They lined every open spot of grass with blankets, played Frisbee, and some girls even had on skimpy two piece bathing suits to tan. Finals were almost over, many were thinking about the coming summer break before them.

None were focused on the tall, skinny woman, wearing cut off shorts and a beat up tee shirt, sitting on the bench. Their self-absorption was making it easy to sit there and college kids and crowds were the perfect cover for her. It allowed her the ease to move about and watch without anyone knowing. All day she had followed and watched, stopped to sit when they stopped, drank coffee when they drank coffee...seethed at their carefree nature.

Envy didn't begin to describe what she felt when she saw the two women she had narrowed her observations on that day. They were beautiful and happy, each had a sizable diamond ring on their finger, glittering in the warm sunshine. Both gorgeous brunettes that reminded her of girls that had picked on her high-school. The lighter haired sat in her navy blue sundress, that did not hide the fact that she was _very _pregnant, had her hand gliding over her very swollen belly.

She was no doctor but she would guess that this woman was due to give birth any week now and no words could describe how much _she _wanted that baby.

It didn't seem fair that she was just as smart as these women, just as attractive… and yet… she had nothing while they had it all. Why hadn't they lost everything like she had? Why did God spare them all the pain and agony and harp it on her? It was unjust and she had to fix it. Her fingers curled angrily around her book. She wanted to hurl it at them. Make them hurt as much as she as she hurt.

There was a moment where she felt a small twinge of satisfaction when the very pregnant lady tried to get up, moving sluggishly and having to grip her companion's wheelchair to bring herself to her feet. They passed her, unaware that they were even being watched. Slowly she got up, carrying her book underneath her arm, and quietly followed them to their next destination, the whole time the women clueless that they were even being stalked.


	2. Sympathy Crankiness

**Warnings: **Spoilers but only if you squint.**  
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**A/N: **Here is the promised full chapter. Enjoy!**  
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><p>Anthony DiNozzo wove his way through the crowds of commuters, tourists and other pedestrians, trying to keep his temper in check. It had been an incredibly long day investigating in this heat... only to find their missing sailor sleeping off a hang over in his girlfriends' apartment. To say that he was annoyed was putting it mildly. He was furious. So much time had been wasted tracking that idiot down...<p>

Tony crashed into a tall woman, wearing grungy clothes and cursed. He apologized, profusely, helped her to her feet and went on his way. He was already late for his dinner date with Leah, Tim and Delilah... thanks to having a mound of paperwork to fill out because of their missing sailor.

"You look tense, buddy," the host said when he reached the restaurant. "Long day?"

"Rather not discuss it," Tony growled. He gave the young man Tim's name for the reservation and a short, plump college student guided him through the dining room towards his table. It was tucked into a corner, away from most of the other diners, with plenty of space for Delilah's chair. "Sorry I'm late."

Leah slid a drink across the table towards him as he sat. Instantly he felt his temper melting away seeing the drink, a martini, shaken not stirred of course, if he knew his wife. She took his hand and gave it a little squeeze. "You're welcome."

Tony sighed and took a sip of his drink. Gently he reached underneath the table and rubbed her belly affectionately, his silent way of saying hello to his daughter. Underneath his fingers he felt her kick and he grinned. "Some one is active today."

His wife grunted while looking at her menu. "Yes, and someone is eager for her to come out."

"Soon," Tony said, leaning over and giving her a soft kiss on her cheek. "Just have to be a little patient."

"Patient?" Leah snapped, looking at him. "It's hard to be patient when you're carrying a baby around in this heat."

"And being on her feet all day," Delilah chimed in, "Tony... you should be showing a little more compassion."

Tony threw her a mock glare. "Ask Tim what we did all day... go on."

Tim shrugged his shoulders. "Spent most of the day looking for a missing sailor on a hiking trail."

"Where did we find that missing sailor?"

"Um... sleeping off a hangover in his out-of-town girlfriend's apartment."

"You're right, Leah," Delilah said, grinning. "He does get cranky when it gets hot out."

Leah pat Tony's hand affectionately. "Sometimes, in the last few days, I've wondered who is really carrying this baby."

Tony feigned a look of being hurt by their words. "Hey... maybe I just have a case of sympathy crankiness."

"Sympathy crankiness?" Tim asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yeah... you know... when the husband has similar mood swings because he feels bad for his wife."

"You didn't even have sympathy pains when I was in labor with Jack. You're just cranky."

"Fine," Tony snapped, "I am cranky. This heat is ridiculous and it's too early in the season to be this hot. It's only May!"

Tim had been dealing with Tony's mood for the last several days. Although, he was certain that it wasn't entirely the extreme heat that Washington was experiencing right now, but rather a combination of things. Leah's due date was only weeks away at this point and her parents were in town to help the small family prepare for the arrival of the new baby. Jack, at twenty-one months old was a holy terror some days, and Tony was primarily taking care of the toddler on the weekends so his wife could get caught up on work. And then there was their own job...

Delilah cut into his thoughts then, "So... have you two picked a name for our new little one yet?"

Leah rolled her eyes and sipped her water. "We cannot seem to come to any sort of agreement. My mother isn't helping the situation by throwing in her two cents every time the topic is brought up."

Tony grunted and took another sip of his drink. It had been easy to name their son. He wasn't sure why it was so difficult to name their daughter. "She suggested Kate... but I turned that down."

"Why?" Tim asked, surprised that Tony wouldn't want to honor his fallen partner that way.

"Goldfish is named Kate. Wouldn't want to confuse the baby."

"Oh, well, in that case..."

"We compromised on that one... her middle name is going to be Caitlin," Leah announced. "Now we just need a first name."

Delilah chuckled at the annoyed look that passed over Tony's face. "Good thing you still have some time to think about it. You know, I've heard of couples having no idea what they were going to name their children until they met them... perhaps a name won't come to you until you see your daughter for the first time."

Tim nodded in agreement. "That's a very good point. Perhaps you just need to hold her first. I'm sure it's going to come to you. So... speaking of babies... there was a reason that we wanted to see you guys..."

"Sir... lady at the bar told me to bring you this bottle of Pinot Noir," the waiter interrupted.

Immediately all four heads turned in the direction of the bar but they didn't see anyone sitting there. Tim looked up at the waiter, puzzled. "I'm sorry, are you sure this bottle is for us?"

The waiter nodded his head. "Yes. Woman wearing some ratty, beat up clothing asked me to bring this to you so you could celebrate. I assumed it was someone that you knew, sir." He placed a smaller bottle of sparkling cider on the table next to Leah, "And she told me to make sure that you had this ma'am, she didn't want you to be left out of the celebration just because you were pregnant."

_Woman with ratty, beat up clothing? _Tony thought, thinking back the woman he had crashed into outside of the bar. Was it possible that she had been the one to send the bottle over? That was too much of a coincidence right? Tony frowned at the bottle of wine. "Pinot Noir? Isn't that what Agent McGregor drinks Mr. Gemcity?"

"Yes, he has a taste for red wine," Tim said, still slightly stunned that this bottle had shown up. "But I do not."

"I can take it back, sir," the waiter offered. "And perhaps bring something more to your likening?"

Tim thanked him and asked for the bottle of champagne that he was going to originally order, keeping the bottle of sparkling cider for Leah of course. Puzzled by the series of events, the junior agent tried to shake it off. "That was weird."

Tony sipped his martini and glanced around the room. "Maybe you have a secret admirer, McGee. Now, since you asked for champagne... I'm assuming we're here to celebrate something."

Delilah smiled and grabbed her husband's hand. "Yes, we are. With the money from Tim's last book we're able to afford a surrogate."

"Surrogate what?" Tony asked, confused, while Leah gasped and grinned. "What? Am I missing something?"

"You didn't read my last book, did you?" Tim said, frowning. "Twila has trouble getting pregnant so she asks her friend to carry her baby."

"So... you're..."

"They're going to have a baby, Tony!" Leah exclaimed, happy tears in her eyes.

Tony's eyes went wide for a moment. He knew that Tim and Delilah had talked about having a baby, but the risks were certainly higher for her. The Palmers of course had given them all the information they needed to adopt, but they really wanted to have their own child... which meant saving up the money to hire another woman to carry their baby. "Really? That's...that's great! When is the baby due?"

Delilah pat Tim's hand gently. "Our surrogate is thirteen weeks pregnant. And the baby is due in October."

Even before Tony could reach for the bottle of champagne to pop it open, his cellphone rang... closely followed by Tim's. He groaned and pulled it out to see that it was Gibbs. _So close... _He held the phone up to show Tim and the two agents rose from the table, kissing their respective wives good-bye. As they rushed from the restaurant, it appeared that their day working out in the heat was not over.

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><p>Thunder was rolling in the distance when Tony and Tim pulled up the crime scene. They had headed out of the city to an abandoned barn, where two boys playing had unearthed dog tags, and a skull.<p>

"So much for a quiet dinner and evening at home," Tony muttered under his breath as the pair walked.

"You have a twenty-one month old son that can be a holy terror... is it ever quiet at your house?" Tim asked, honestly.

Tony chuckled and pulled his ball cap down over his brown hair. "No. Not really. But since we were going out for the night, he would have been in bed by the time we got home. He's always good for the sitter."

Tim had to laugh. Jack was very much like his father, a charmer, a trouble-maker... and no one loved that little boy more than Tony. "Of course he is... he saves his best stuff for you."

"Hey, Ellie," Tony greeted the newest member of their team. "What have we got?"

"Dog tags and a skull," Ellie Bishop said with a slight shrug. "That's all I can tell you because that's all we've got."

"So the skull might not even be from a military person?"

"No way of knowing until we run the service number on the dog tags and try to identify the skull."

Tony ran his hands over his face, feeling the sweat from the unbearable humidity forming. "Great... just want I want to be doing in this weather... running around looking for more body parts."

Ellie frowned. "You don't really think Gibbs will make us start digging do you? We've been out in this heat all day looking for that Petty Officer."

"He will," Gibbs announced, appearing behind Tony's right shoulder, and dropping some shovels at their feet. "Start digging."

Tony inwardly groaned, and picked up a shovel. It was going to be a long night, he could already tell even before they started working. As they began to work, spreading out around the site, Tony felt like this was eerily familiar. He just couldn't put a finger on it. Until across the yard, Tim mentioned something about his book. "Wait... that's right! Weren't bones with dog tags found in a barn in your book?"

Ellie shifted through some silt. "No. It was an old gas station, hadn't been in use since the 1960s." She stood up when she didn't find anything and began to move onto another spot. "And those bones were pretty old. Ducky thinks our skull is less than a year."

He still couldn't shake the similarities. "Still... come on... you have to admit that's... weird."

"Sure. I can admit that."

"Hey, McGee...since you seem to have written this... can you tell us how it ends?"

"Tibbs and the team find the killer and arrests him."

"So you can't tell us who the killer is?"

"This isn't like my book, Tony."

Tony scoffed and shook his head while he kept digging. "Yeah... like I haven't heard _that _before."

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><p>Hours after the team had left the barn she made it back to check her cameras.<p>

Everyone had a role to play and they played it well. Nothing was left unturned and the team looked a little flustered before they packed up their things to go but no other bones were found. She hadn't left any for them to find. She didn't want it easy for them because she liked to watch them work. It was a beautiful sight. And by watching them work... when she finally got to talk to them... she could impress them with how much she knew.

He would certainly like that. He liked smart women. It was why he had been attracted to the woman he'd eventually ended up marrying. He just didn't know yet that they were meant to be together.


	3. A Staged Crime Scene

**Warnings: **I meant to put this warning before... but apparently some readers don't like OC love interests because they become targets or bad ass Mary Sues. Well, Leah is an OC love interest who will be targeted... and I wouldn't consider her bad ass lol

**A/N: **Here is the next chapter. Enjoy and please let me know what you think!

**Dis- **_thanks!_

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><p>Tony rolled his shoulders, trying to ease the tension in his muscles. He had only caught a few winks of sleep in Abby's lab since returning from the crime scene and after leaving briefly because of a false alarm of labor... he was back at his desk.<p>

His muscles were tight and the lack of sleep was not going to help his crankiness. On top of that it seemed that the crankiness had spread to Jack as well. His daughter needed to make her appearance... fast.

"I thought you went home to take Leah to the hospital?" Tim asked when he found the senior field agent in the bullpen.

"False alarm," Tony replied, quietly, still rolling his shoulders. "Apparently... it was something she ate at dinner with Delilah. Either that or it was a rouse to get me home to help get Jack to take a bath this morning. He found the maple syrup again and he wasn't particularly in the mood to get cleaned up. So, take your pick which one it was."

Tim normally would have found his godson covered in sticky maple syrup amusing, but he was exhausted. It didn't seem funny when you hadn't slept the night before and there was very little hope of getting any sleep in the near future. "Well, you didn't miss much. Dog tags were from a soldier that died in 1968... Ducky is waiting for his dental records to match the skull."

Tony stopped rolling his shoulders and glared at his partner. "Great... so we have nothing."

Ellie appeared then, no bounce in her step, dark circles under her eyes. "Well, not nothing... we have an almost fifty year old cold case."

"Oh goodie! Because I love those!" Tony exclaimed, sarcastically.

"DiNozzo, tone down the sarcasm," Gibbs grumbled, handing out coffee to his team.

"Sorry, boss. This pregnancy is going to kill me."

"Not if I don't kill you first."

Tony mumbled another apology and got back to work... except he had none. Why did Leah's call have to be a false alarm? At least if she was in labor he would be doing something. Nothing to do on this case meant they were just sitting around waiting for confirmation on their victims identity. "Hey... if we already know that the owner of the dog tags is dead... there must be a death certificate. Right?"

Tim's eyes widened for a second. "Tony's right, boss. I didn't even think of that. If our victim was missing... there would be no record of his death."

Gibbs shook his head. It didn't matter that they had missed it. His team had been worked hard over the last forty-eight hours. "We've been working around the clock, little sleep... we're bound to miss things. But now that we know... let's fix it."

"I'll run a background check, boss," Tony offered. It would at least give him something to do.

"I wouldn't bother, Anthony," Ducky said entering the bullpen, dashing his hopes of having something to keep him awake and occupied. "Our skull and our dog tags are not from the same person."

"Well, if they aren't from the same person... whose skull is it?" Ellie asked.

Ducky sighed. "Damned if I know. Jethro, this crime scene seems rather... staged... if you ask me. I called the marine's family and they said that the dog tags were misplaced years ago but they live nowhere near the location that they were discovered at."

Tony felt like banging his head on his desk. "So, we've been doing all this work for nothing?"

Gibbs downed his coffee. "Not nothing, Tony... we need to find out why someone would stage a crime scene like that to get us to come out."

Tim looked at his partners, wearily. "That could be any reason, boss."

"How do we even know it was staged? We don't know the identity of the skull," Ellie pointed out.

"I said I didn't know the identity of our skull, Eleanor," Ducky replied," but I do know where it came from." All eyes were on him, suddenly. "It came from Monroe University... their medical department reported a theft of bones that are used for anatomy classes... I am having Abigail check... but I would place bets that it is made from synthetic material."

Tony shook his head to clear his thoughts. "I feel like I've seen this movie."

Ellie snapped her fingers. "Not a movie! A book! Tim's book!"

"Huh?" Tony and Tim questioned at the same time.

"Twila works at a medical lab... the killer steals the bones from the lab and buries them with the dog tags to throw the team off track," Ellie responded.

"I told you to stop writing books about us," Tony grumbled.

Tim decided that there was no point in arguing with Tony right now. His partner was beyond cranky at this point. And, truthfully, Tim just didn't have the energy. "But in my book the killer did that to cover up his murders... we haven't found any bodies yet."

Tony rubbed his hands over his face and mumbled, "Yet. Think it's clear that someone is living out your book."

"But not all the fine details,"Ducky said. "Certain elements have been changed about the book. It was a gas station those bones were found at and the dog tags matched a murder victim."

"Murder victim was female too," Ellie interjected.

"Bishop... we don't have a murder victim," Tony threw out.

"Yet," Ellie said, quirking an eyebrow.

Gibbs let out a frustrated snarl. "Until we have an actual body... go home... get some rest. And Ducky... make sure the University knows we found one of their missing skulls."

Tony slowly gathered up his things. Getting the day off meant that he could sleep. Leah had to be at George Washington University all day and Jack would be at daycare or with his grandparents. _Instead of sleeping_ _you could get caught up on McGee's book_...

All the coincidences were really starting to add up... making it a little unnerving. To top it off he was still puzzled by the woman sending the bottle of wine over at dinner. Had it been an admiring fan of Tim's? If so... why didn't they stay to meet him? That's usually how those things went when Tony had witnessed it before.

"Damn... I'm not getting any sleep," the senior field agent mumbled getting into the elevator.

"Yeah, neither am I," Tim chimed in. "The answer to this has to be in my book. I better start looking over my notes."

"Coincidences bothering you too?"

"Uh-huh."

Tony pursed his lips. "Meet in three hour to compare notes?"

Tim sighed, tiredly. "Sure. Sounds like a plan."

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><p>Delilah had gone into work early like she usually did when Tim was at the office all night. She was preparing to make another trip to Dubai in a few weeks and she had a lot of paperwork to complete before doing so. It was going to be her last trip for a long time with the baby coming.<p>

Even though she wasn't the one carrying their child, her and Tim had a lot of preparations to make before the baby was born. It had also been a struggle to get to this point. Especially when they realized it was not going to be as easy to have a baby as it was for their friends.

She had been disappointed when the doctor informed them that it would be too dangerous for her to carry a baby. It was hard to watch Leah experience pregnancy like she always imagined it would be. Although... seeing how uncomfortable Leah was during this heat wave... there was a small part of her that was glad she wouldn't be carrying her baby.

"Hey, Delilah," the night security guard said, popping in her office before leaving for the night. "Some lady was trying to get into the building last night to drop something off in your office."

"Did she leave it with you?" Delilah asked.

The security guard shook his head. "No. She got very agitated that we wouldn't let her in and left. Just thought it was weird and that you should know."

She was intrigued by this and asked for the time the incident had happened so she could go back and watch footage to see if she knew the woman. "Thanks for letting me know... I'm sure it was nothing."

"Oh, one another thing... she kept saying that you were an imposter... that she was the real Twila McGregor," the guard told her, dropping the anvil into the room. "I figured she was drunk... she sure was acting like it."

"Wait? She said her name was Twila McGregor?"

"Yeah? Do you know her?"

Delilah felt her stomach give an unpleasant lurch. Something odd was happening here and she though back to the woman who had sent that bottle of wine over the night before at dinner. Could the two be linked? "Yeah," she finally said, swallowing the bile in her throat, "she's a fictional character in my husband's book."


	4. Happily Ever After

**Warnings: **Can't think of any for this chapter. Oh, but I promise no babies will be harmed in this story.

**A/N: **Next chapter in this little saga. Will probably be able to get another post up tomorrow, my Patriots are playing in the AFC Championship today and writing last week helped calm me down haha. Please, feel free to let me know what you think!

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><p>His cell phone was ringing, waking him, and Tony realized he had fallen asleep on the sofa. Blinking open heavy eyes, he glanced at the clock on the cable box and grimaced. He had promised to meet Tim three hours ago. <em>Damn. <em>

Fumbling about, Tony grabbed his phone off the coffee table and answered, "DiNozzo."

"_Where are you?" _Ellie's voice asked, concerned over the line. "_Tim and I have been trying to reach you for the last three hours."_

"Fell asleep," Tony confessed, sitting up and trying to rub the sleep from his eyes. "Why? What's going on?"

Ellie began to nervously chatter on the line. Tony normally could keep up with her, but his brain was in no way shape or form awake enough to follow one of her rants. "Ellie!" he finally snapped, stopping her. "Slow down!"

She took a deep breath and started over, "_Delilah stopped by. She said a woman tried to get into her office last night." _

"And?"

"_The woman claimed she was Twila McGregor." _

Tony was wide-awake now. Twila McGregor was the fictional wife of Agent McGregor, had lost a leg in a bombing and needed a cain to walk... in the last book Twila had been unsuccessful in getting pregnant… the McGregor's wanted a child… maybe this deranged woman thought she could _be _the woman to give McGregor the baby he desired. _Oh, this is bad, this is very, very bad, _he thought as he pulled himself from the sofa. He found his jeans and belt and pulled them back on, cradling the phone against his ear. "I'm on my way in. Tell Gibbs I'm bringing coffee."

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><p>Grainy, security footage played on the plasma when Tony arrived, a tray of coffee in his hands. He put the tray down onto his desk and watched as the guards held back an obviously out of control woman. Under any other circumstances he would say that this woman was just a crazy drunk… but given what he knew now… Tony's gut was churning rather uncomfortably. "Do you think Abby can clean that up?"<p>

Gibbs frowned and reached for a coffee. "She's working on it. Does she look familiar to you?"

Tony watched the screen again, as Ellie zoomed in on her face. Something fluttered in his stomach. "It could be… it could be this woman I bumped into yesterday. Knocked her down on my way to meet Leah, Tim and Delilah for dinner."

"Notice anything out of the ordinary?"

"She was wearing grungy clothes… but it was hot… sorry boss. I wasn't on my game I guess."

Gibbs sighed and gave his head a little shake. "Just bring your game _now. _Did you go home and read Tim's book?"

Tony nodded. "Got three quarters of the way through it, but then fell asleep."

"Learn anything?"

"The McGregor's wanted a baby. They were talking about adoption or surrogacy when I nodded off."

Ellie pondered this, leaning forward on her elbows. "Tim and Delilah were struggling to get pregnant. It's possible that this woman thinks she's better for Tim… or…Agent McGregor because she can give him a baby."

Gibbs took a deep breath. "Do you think Delilah's in any danger?"

"She's been stalking Tim, so she has to be stalking Delilah too."

"You are most definitely right, Eleanor," Ducky announced, joining them. "But I think we have a much bigger problem here."

"Explain, Ducky," Gibbs ordered, softly.

Ducky held up some videotapes in evidence bags. "Local police called earlier today and said they had found these at the crime scene. The team was out of the building at the time so I took them. Jethro, these tapes show the team investigating that barn. This woman more than likely has been stalking all of you… to find a loophole or weakness… a way to get to Timothy."

Tony felt his shoulders go rigid. "Does that mean she's been watching _all _of us? Because if that's the case _none _of us are safe." _Leah, Jack, and the baby aren't safe. _Blood suddenly rushing to his ears, thundering in them, Tony pulled his cell out and started to dial his wife…

"Hey, Tony," Gibbs said, reaching out and snatching the phone away. "I already had campus police check on her. She's fine."

"It doesn't make me feel much better, boss," Tony confessed.

"If it makes you feel any better, Anthony," Ducky offered, "I do not think that Leah is this stalker's endgame. She is simply studying all of us to get closer to Tim."

His stiff stance didn't relax hearing that. It only made him worry more. Leah was a close friend to Delilah, they spent a lot of time together shopping, having lunch… she could be used to gain access to Delilah… to the team. "Boss…"

Gibbs seemed to understand his distress. He gave the senior field agent his phone back. "Until we know more… let Leah go about her day, alright? I don't want to scare her unnecessarily, not when she's eight months pregnant."

Tony swallowed his nervous bile and clutched his phone in his hand. His family was his entire world and he had gone to great lengths since Wayne Cooper had broken into their apartment to protect them. Suddenly, it was all unraveling. Criminals with vendettas he could handle, knew what do to keep his wife and kids safe, but this… a deranged woman, who they did not know the identity of? How the hell was he supposed to keep his family safe from that? "Ducky… if Leah isn't the stalker's endgame… what is?"

Ducky's brow furrowed. "Having so little to go on… I can only surmise that the endgame would be to give Agent McGregor what he wants the most… in this case a family."

"What is she going to do, steal Tim's sperm and impregnate herself?" Tony sputtered.

"If Timothy's sperm were at a sperm bank, then she could certainly try."

"Hey, Ducky, what about a fertility clinic?"

"Pardon?"

Tony took a deep breath. _Sorry, Tim, but this is important to the case. _"Tim and Delilah went to a fertility clinic and had embryos frozen for later use in a surrogate. Well, I'm sure they froze as many embryos as possible because they weren't sure if the first time would work. Could she try to fake being the surrogate?"

Ellie straightened her shoulders. "Perhaps she already has and we just don't know it."

Gibbs shook his head. "Fertility clinic would have called Delilah or Tim to make sure. They'd want their money."

"But she might not know that, Gibbs," Ellie pointed out. "We should call the clinic and see if anyone has come in asking about Delilah and Tim's…embryos."

"Do it," Gibbs ordered, he turned towards Tony. "Do you know the name of their _real _surrogate?"

"How did you…" Tony started to say, then shook his head, "Doesn't matter. Yeah, they gave the name to me and Leah because they had given ours to the surrogate… just in case."

"Get in touch with her."

"On it boss."

Gibbs felt his nerves on edge and glanced at Ducky. This situation was out of their control and he hated not having control. "Ducky, how long do you think we have until this woman starts to get violent?"

Ducky sighed. "I think we are dangerously close to that stage, Jethro."

"Yeah," Gibbs whispered, downing his coffee, "that's what I was afraid of."

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><p>Katherine Dawson could tell that her daughter was extremely uncomfortable in the heat. She handed her an ice-cold bottle of water and smiled, "Look at it this way, sweetheart, you're in the final stretch."<p>

Leah lowered herself to the bench and wiped the sweat from her brow. "I know," she whispered, biting down on her lip. "I've been terrible towards Tony. He was at work all night and I called this morning, lying about being in labor because Jack was just too much for me to handle. It's hard chasing after him when you waddle."

"Oh, you aren't the first pregnant woman to snap at her husband," Katherine said, soothingly, rubbing her daughter's back. "Tony knows that your snapping has little to do with him."

"I've kind of rubbed off on him," Leah confessed, sipping her water.

"An extreme heat wave will do that to the best of men," Katherine countered. "Your father gets incredibly cranky when it gets hot."

Leah chuckled while she drank the ice-cold water, feeling relief from the heat for the first time that day. "Daddy better get used to it if he wants to run for office and have to move down here to Washington." She rested her hand on her ever-growing belly. Underneath her fingers she felt her daughter kick. Baby Girl DiNozzo had been active through out most of the pregnancy but she had been extremely active in the last few days. Leah hoped that meant she was getting herself into position and getting ready to be brought into this world. She didn't know how much longer she could take…

"Professor Dawson?" a timid voice asked, causing Leah to glance up. "Some lady asked me to give this to you."

"Oh. Thank you," Leah said, taking the note from the outstretched student's hand.

"You have the students call you Professor Dawson, still?" Katherine asked while Leah read the note.

"Easier to say that than Professor Dawson-DiNozzo and better than the silly nickname of Professor D that Tony gave me."

Katherine laughed, until she saw the pallor of her daughter's skin changed. "Leah? What's wrong sweetheart?"

Leah, hands shaking, looked up at the student. "Who gave this to you again?"

The student shrugged her small shoulders. "Some lady. She said that she needed to get this message to you but she was late. She was dressed in a business suit… I just assumed it was another professor here at the University," she answered before walking away.

"Sweetheart… what is going on?" Katherine asked her, gently wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"I have to… I have to call Tony," Leah said, near panic stricken. She frantically searched for her cell phone, trying to get it out of her purse, dropping the note on the ground.

Katherine leaned down to pick it up, gasping when she read _I'm coming for my baby._

* * *

><p>Panic quickly ensued once her note was delivered. She was able to use the flurry of activity that followed, thanks to sending the young professor into an anxiety attack, to escape, unnoticed.<p>

Campus police were too busy trying to calm the young woman while they called for help and they were not looking for the student that had delivered the note for her.

That stupid woman better not hurt her baby because of this, there would be hell to pay if anything happened to her baby... she had waited so long to have this family... went through so many failures at getting pregnant, and then having to watch as someone as undeserving as Agent Tommy's slut get a baby... it was too much to bear.

Whatever. It wouldn't matter soon. Her baby would be here, in her arms, and she would have her happily ever after.


	5. Danger

**Warnings:** Dark, suspenseful (I think anyways), but again, I promise no babies will be hurt.

**A/N:** Well, I didn't need to write so much to calm my nerves during last night's game. But I did manage to write leading up to the game to focus all that energy I had. Should be using it to put the last of my holiday decorations away lol. Writing is more fun. Please let me know what you think! Enjoy!

* * *

><p>"Mrs. DiNozzo, please, just try to take deep breaths," the nurse in the ER said, rubbing her back, while situating an oxygen mask over Leah's nose. "Your baby can feel your distress you know, let's not frighten her okay?"<p>

Leah tried to calm her nerves, she really did, but the moment she couldn't reach Tony she had gone into a full blown out panic attack. Campus police and her mother had immediately made the decision to call the EMT's and take her to the hospital. But it was the memory of Wayne Cooper standing in her bedroom, gun drawn while Jack sobbed which was still fresh, which still hurt, that sent her into full panic mode. And now someone else was threatening to come take her baby…

Katherine reached out and grabbed her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Leah, listen to the nurse, please," she instructed her daughter. "I reached your father who was able to reach Tony. He's on his way. Should be here any moment now."

She closed her eyes, feeling the tension slowly starting to leave her body. Leah could hear the monitors tracking her heart slow, and the nurse told her that she was doing just fine, and to just keep breathing. Her eyes popped open she caught a waft of familiar cologne against the sterile smell of the ER. Tony's concerned face entered her vision and she felt another onslaught of tears.

Tony took Katherine's place, grabbing a hold of his wife's hand and pushing her hair back out of her face. "Darling, relax, you and the baby are safe. Ellie took that note back to NCIS to process for prints. Okay? We're going to find out who did this, I promise."

"She's coming…she's coming for… for our baby!" Leah gasped, pulling the oxygen mask off her nose, tears welding in her eyes.

"No one is going to take our baby, Lee," Tony promised her, kissing her softly.

"Would you like to see your baby? Maybe that will help calm your nerves, Mrs. DiNozzo," the nurse offered getting an ultra sound machine ready.

Leah nodded, quickly, let the nurse put the oxygen mask over her nose and waited, as patiently as she could for the image of her baby on the screen. She didn't even care that the nurse had not warmed the jelly up before slathering it across her stomach… when her little girl appeared on screen, sucking her thumb, Leah felt her nerves ease.

The nurse smiled at her. "See, there's your baby. Have you picked a name out for her yet?"

Tony gave her hand a squeeze and then brought it to his lips, leaving a chaste kiss. "We haven't decided yet."

"Don't worry," the nurse said, finishing up the ultrasound, "it will come to you." She cleaned Leah's stomach off and gave the family some privacy.

His cell phone ringing interrupted the drone of monitors. Tony pulled it out and glanced at it briefly, before looking at his wife. "It's Gibbs," he informed her, "Alright if I take this?"

She nodded, knowing that if he didn't answer there would be hell to pay later. Tony's hand slipped out of hers and he left the small room, answering his phone as he went. Leah went back to closing her eyes suddenly wanting a nap. She must have dozed off because the next time she opened her eyes, Tony was stroking her hair and coaxing her awake. The mask was gone and she was no longer hooked up to the heart monitor.

Tony smiled at her, gently. "Doctor says that you can go home. Your mom went to pick Jack up from daycare and she's taking him back to their hotel suite for the night."

Leah eased herself up into a sitting position with Tony's help. "How long did I sleep?"

"Few hours. We thought it was best if you got the sleep."

"The baby?"

"Baby is fine."

She looked down at her belly and rubbed it, affectionately. "I saw Wayne… with that gun… threatening Jack…"

He wiped at her tears. "Lee, it's alright now. I promise… no one is going to get their hands on our children. And if I don't stop it from happening, you better believe that Gibbs will. Or your dad… no one is going to hurt Jack or the baby… too many people to get through first."

"I… I know," Leah replied, shakily.

"Come on," Tony said, helping her off the bed, "Let's get you out of here."

"Anthony," she whispered as they walked out of the ER, towards their car, "we really need to decide on a name for our daughter."

* * *

><p>Gibbs, armed with a Caf-Pow, entered the lab determined to end this game of cat and mouse today. "Tell me you got prints off that note."<p>

Abby twirled around, a frown on her face. "Is Leah alright? And the baby?"

"Both Leah and the baby are fine," Gibbs reported, a bit more gently. "Abs. I need something to find this psycho."

"There were three sets of prints on the note," Abby reported, bringing her findings up on the computer. "I easily matched two. Leah's… and the student's… it appears that she was arrested and booked for marijuana last semester. Anyways… the third, mystery set of prints matches one that were found on the videotapes that the local LEO's ran across and brought to NCIS. We're looking for the same person."

Gibbs sighed and put the Caf-Pow down onto her table. "Anything with that security footage from the last night?"

Abby shook her head. "I tried to clean it up as best as I could… it's not enough to get facial recognition… but you're looking for a tall woman… black hair. I'd say maybe in her mid to late thirties. Bishop was going to meet with the guards and the student to get a sketch. Sorry that we don't have more."

"More than we had this morning, Abs," Gibbs assured her. "Let's just keep digging away and we'll come up with something, eventually."

"What about Leah? And the baby? Delilah! Gibbs… I'm really scared," Abby whimpered.

He pulled her into a tight hug and kissed the top of her head. Truth be told he was really scared too, but he had a job to do—to protect his family. Gibbs pulled away and promised her that no one was going to hurt Leah, or the baby, or Delilah. They would have to get through him, Tony, _and _Tim in order to do that. It was just enough of a promise to get her refocusing and throwing him out of her lab to keep working.

Gibbs chuckled as he proceeded towards the elevator, hit the button and waited for the doors to open. He was surprised to see Leah sitting on the floor. "Leah?"

"Hi," she said, glancing up, timidly.

"What are you doing?" he asked, softly, stepping inside the cab.

"Ducky, Tony, and Tim were throwing around theories about…why… this woman is stalking Tim," Leah responded. "It was… it was a little overwhelming."

Gibbs sighed and lowered his body down onto the floor with her. He reached out and put his arm around her, drawing her closer. "Tony will never let her get close enough to harm you or your baby, Leah. Just look at all the extra precautions he's taken since Wayne barged into your apartment and threatened you and Jack."

Leah nodded and looked down at her feet, hidden behind her large belly. "It would take a mastermind to pick our locks…"

"And disable your alarm."

"But this is different, Gibbs. This…"

"_This_ is going to be over soon."

She bit back her tears and nodded her head. Gently, Gibbs helped Leah to her feet and hit the button for the bullpen floor. She was amazed that he always knew the right words to say when someone was feeling insecure, down or out… _put of his charm, _Tony had once told her. And the charm… it had worked this time… she was feeling more at ease—until she saw the panicked look on Tim's face and the tightened jaw on Tony's.

Gibbs immediately knew that something was wrong as well. "Talk to me."

Tony pulled his blazer down, tightly. "D.O.D just called."

"And?"

"Delilah didn't return from lunch."

"You call her?"

"Didn't answer."

Gibbs breezed past Leah into the bullpen and stood right in front of Tim's desk, heart leaping up into his throat. _Why didn't we assign a protection detail to her?_ "McGee… did you trace her phone?"

Tim nodded. "I got nothing. It must be off. She was going with our surrogate today for her check-up."

"Tony, you're with me," Gibbs ordered, grabbing his weapon. "Tim… keep trying to trace their cells."

"O-okay," Tim sputtered.

Leah stood there, anxiously while Tony grabbed his own weapon, kissed her cheek in departure and was gone.

* * *

><p>Alice Malloy woke up dazed and confused, on the side of the road no less. Rubbing the fog from her eyes she sat up and looked around. It was rural road, not many cars probably drove here... which was why no one had found her.<p>

Everything had gone haywire when that lady forced her way into Mrs. McGee's car and made her drive out of Washington. The two women had been forced to shut their cell phones off and to remain quiet while they drove. At some point the psycho lady had asked Mrs. McGee to pull over onto the side of the road and she forced Alice to get out of the car. Which is pretty much where Alice's memory went blank.

In the hot, setting sun, Alice squinted down the road. What were the chances she was going to have reception out here? Fishing her phone out of her pocket she found that she had enough bars and battery to make a call. She dialed _911. _"Hello, my name is Alice Malloy... I'd like to report an abduction."


	6. Protect Your Family

**Warnings:** A little dark, angst, updated this on my iPad, sometimes autocorrect changes things and makes it wacky and I miss it.

**A/N:** I know that there is not much Tim or Delilah in this chapter. More next chapter, promise. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Tony heard the familiar sound of a baby's heartbeat fill the tiny room as he pulled the curtain back. Alice was sitting in a hospital bed, drinking a juice box and nibbling on some crackers. The SFA felt a tremendous wave of relief overcome his body. Tim and Delilah's baby was okay. <em>One bullet dodged, let's hope we dodge another. <em> "Miss Malloy?" he questioned, holding up his badge. "I'm Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo."

Alice smiled, recognizing the name. "You're Mr. and Mrs. McGee's friend. They gave me your number in case of emergencies and they couldn't be reached."

"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" Tony inquired, stepping up to her bed. He looked at the nurse attending to the young woman. "It shouldn't take too long."

"No. I don't mind. I'm feeling better," Alice said. "I just hope I can help you. I told the police everything that I could remember."

Tony ran his tongue over his lips. "Did you notice anything unusual when you went in for your doctor's appointment? Anyone hanging around?"

Alice shook her head. "No. Until the woman forced her way into the car and made us drive… I had never seen her before."

"Did she have a weapon?"

"Looked like a kitchen knife… you know one that you would cut up vegetables while cooking."

Tony clenched his fists at his sides. They had been so focused on Leah and the threat to the baby that they hadn't even really bothered to check in with Delilah. He questioned why they hadn't assigned a protection detail to her or the surrogate. "Did she say anything while you were driving?"

Alice shook her head again. "No. Not really. She did say that Mrs. McGee was an imposter… and that she was going to live happily ever after with Agent McGregor and their baby… I don't know what she was really talking about… she seemed a little… off the rails if you ask me."

_Off the rails… that's an accurate description, _he thought as his phone buzzed. Tony pulled it out of his pocket to see that Ellie had sent him a photograph of her sketch. He held it up to Alice. "Is this the woman that abducted you and Mrs. McGee?"

"Yeah, looks just like her," Alice replied.

"I don't suppose she gave a name?"

"Twila… maybe."

_Figures. No easy break. _Tony sighed and thanked her. "Listen, an officer is going to stay with you until an agent can bring you back to the city. Do you have anyone outside of Washington that you can stay with for a while?"

Alice blinked, noticing that he was still very concerned for her safety. "Um… my parents live in Maryland."

Tony set his jaw and told her to take a few days and go to Maryland, the NCIS agent would take her there. He left feeling little relief. The local officer that had met him at the hospital gave him a frown. "Agent Gibbs back yet?"

"No sir," the officer said. "Heard over my radio they found Mrs. McGee's car."

"How far from here?"

"Twenty miles north."

Tony pursed his lips and nodded. "Alright, stay with her. I'm going to meet up with Agent Gibbs."

The officer paused as Tony walked away and called out, "Sir? Nothing like this happens around here… this is a small… rural town."

_Yeah, well, it had happened,_ Tony thought as he got into the car. Gripping the steering wheel he watched the storm clouds gathering. Seemed fitting since they were caught in this real life thriller.

He managed to wiggle out of his blazer and threw it the back seat of the car. Before starting the vehicle up, he put a phone call into McGee. He knew that he didn't have much to tell him but _anything_ would better than nothing. Tony knew it was what he would want if the situation was reversed.

It was the hardest call he ever had to make. Tony hated every second of it. "God, I hope I don't have to that again," he muttered after hanging up.

Tossing the phone onto the passenger seat, Tony started the car up and headed in the direction that Delilah's car was found.

Almost thirty minutes later, dust kicked up as Tony drove the Charger towards the flashing lights from local police cruisers. He threw it in park and stepped out, his phone buzzing in his pocket. He knew that it was Leah, checking in on them. She was more nervous than he had ever seen her. And it made him more determined to find Delilah and the nutjob that was stalking them. This woman had chosen to mess with the wrong team.

Gibbs looked up at his second in command while he strode over. His muscles were taut. It had been a long forty-eight hours and it was only going to get longer. In his blue eyes Tony could see his questions and he answered, "Alice is fine. The baby is fine. I heard the heartbeat myself."

"She's moving to take Delilah out to take her place," Gibbs surmised.

"Looks that way," Tony said, sternly.

"Which means… her next move is Leah," the former marine pointed out. "She wants your daughter to fulfill this fantasy she has with McGee."

Tony's shoulders went rigid. "Over my dead body, boss."

Gibbs shook his head, sadly. "It might come to that Tony."

"Leah is at NCIS right now. Doubt this psychopath is getting to her on the Navy Yard."

"She can't sleep at the Navy Yard… not in her condition."

"Then I'll have an agent take her home and stay with her," Tony snapped. "This woman is not getting near my family!"

Gibbs sighed and reached out, grasping Tony's shoulder tightly. "DiNozzo… let's focus on finding Delilah. Right now, Leah is safe. Jack is safe with his grandparents. We find Delilah, we're one step closer to finding the woman responsible for all this, okay?"

Tony took a deep breath. "Boss, I just… this woman is threatening_ everyone _that I care about, not just my wife and my children… but Tim and Delilah… my closest friends… I want… I want her to rot in jail. Or handcuffed to a bed in a psych ward… I don't care which! Just… this has to stop."

"Agent Gibbs," an officer called. "I think we found something."

"See? Maybe some luck, DiNozzo," Gibbs quipped, patting him on the shoulder.

"Luck…" Tony repeated as he followed behind the team leader. Abby didn't believe in luck. But even as the two agents approached, he saw that _luck _was on their side. A photo ID of their suspect. _There is a God. _

Gibbs grabbed the evidence bag, looked at it briefly and then handed it to his second. "Have Ellie run background on her. Ducky…a full profile."

Tony licked his dry lips. "You want me to go back to D.C?"

"Someone needs to go with the car… and someone needs to head the investigation up back at the office," Gibbs said, looking at him, pointedly. "Tony… you've been ready to lead for years… you just haven't had the courage to leave the nest. I need you back in D.C… FBI is on their way to help me."

"Good ole Fornell, always ready to help us in a pinch. Sure he isn't secretly one of us?"

"DiNozzo."

"Sorry, boss, heading back to Washington."

Gibbs watched as his agent left, getting back into the Charger and flooring it back to the city. More thunder rumbled in the distance, signaling the on-coming storm. Gibbs knew that they had little time on their hands before the skies opened on top of them. Hopefully by then they had all the evidence they needed to find Delilah.

* * *

><p>Leah stood next to Ellie in the lab, watching as Abby ran a background check on the suspect. The fact that she had dropped her ID at the crime scene had been a stroke of luck the team had been waiting for. Tim was beside himself while they searched for his missing wife. Leah remembered the feeling all too well when Tony was missing… the uncertainty had nearly driven her insane.<p>

"Whoa," Abby said, breaking into her train of thoughts. "No wonder this lady has drifted into fantasy land."

"What do you mean?" Leah asked, looking at the screen. The face looking back her was sad and _seemed _harmless, but she knew better.

"Her husband died in a car accident," Ellie replied, sadly.

"And that sent her over the edge?" Leah asked, disbelieving. There had to be more to the story.

Ellie's brow furrowed. "No. She was in the car with him and six months pregnant. She lost the baby."

Leah suddenly understood her fascination with having a child. Her child had been taken from her, along with the love of her life. "She must have escaped into books. Some where along the way she had to start believing that _she _was Twila."

"Precisely what happened, Leah," Ducky said, entering the lab. "Her fragile state of mind after the death of her husband and child was the perfect trigger. This kind of psychosis is a hidden monster… just waiting for the right moment to strike."

"In the book, Twila talked about her inability to have children," Ellie said, her gears turning. "Trisha might not be able to physically have children after that accident. And if she can't… she's looking for someone who can."

Ducky nodded. "Yes. In this case, Leah is the woman who can. In the book, the surrogate was never named, in fact the McGregors had not decided if that is the way they were going to go. It is very possible that Trisha has twisted this into believing that _Leah _is the surrogate."

Leah blinked, swallowing the nervous bile in her throat. "So, she thinks that I'm carrying the McGregor's baby."

"Yes, very possible. But there is one other explanation as to why she is targeting your baby. Your character in the book had a child with Agent Tommy… but Tim strayed from his usual path of writing his characters to a likeness of people in his life with that story," Ducky replied. "I think he did it because Tony would always give him a hard time. Agent Tommy and Lindsey were not thrilled about their child. Twila…"

"Expressed her distress that they had a child and she could not," Ellie finished. "She said that the child should be hers and McGregor's."

Instinctively her hands went to her stomach, rubbing. Leah felt her heart rate getting a bit faster but she clamped down on her emotions. She was not going back to the ER with another panic attack.

Ducky pat her, affectionately on the hand. "Leah. Anthony would never let this woman get her hands on your baby. Unlike Agent Tommy… he loves that child with all his heart and then some."

She felt a hand on the small of her back, sensed his familiar presence, even before his lips brushed across her cheek. Leah leaned into her husband's tall frame, taking comfort in his silent strength. "Looks like you ladies have been busy," Tony said, lowly. "BOLO has been put out for Trisha... shouldn't be long now before she's brought in."

"Gosh, I hope so, Tony," Abby sighed, anxiously. "Gibbs find Delilah yet?"

"Storm has moved in, halting the search," Tony said, stroking Leah's arms. "Right now, there's no indication that she's hurt. No blood in the car."

"You brought the car back to NCIS right?"

"Down in the evidence garage."

"I'll start processing it immediately."

Tony watched as Abby, quickly followed by Ellie, left the lab. He pressed a kiss to his wife's temple. "Agent Dorneget is going to take you home."

Leah nodded, closing her eyes briefly. "Let me guess, he's staying there until you come home?"

"He's a good kid, Lee, you'll be fine."

"I promise to be nice to him."

Tony laughed, kissed her one more time and with a new-found determination to protect his family, headed back upstairs. They had a case to close.


	7. Tension

**Warnings:** Crazy woman on the loose...

**A/N**: Here is the next chapter! Hope you enjoy it! And please let me know what you think!

* * *

><p>Rain was splashing on her face and soaking straight through her clothes. Delilah opened her eyes and found herself gazing up at the large hole in the barn. Water streamed down from a thunderstorm, lightening flashed and illuminated her space.<p>

Her head was pounding from the blow it had taken, but her immediate thoughts were of Alice, left on the side of the road in that heat. At least she could open her mouth right now and drink as much as the rain water as she could. What had Alice had to drink? Had someone found her on that back road leading out to nowhere? If no one had that meant she was probably dead… which meant that…

_No. Alice is fine. The baby is fine. Tim, the team, they are going to find you, _Delilah thought, furiously as she pulled herself up into a sitting position. In the dim barn she couldn't tell if her chair was near by. Her purse and phone were gone, no doubt. And who knew where that psycho bitch had left her car.

Lightening flashed again, the space brightening and Delilah could see that her chair was gone. She was just going to have to wait to be saved. Hopefully the NCIS team wasn't too late.

* * *

><p>"You seem tense, darling," Katherine noted when Leah stopped by the hotel to check on Jack. "Is everything alright? Did they find who wrote that horrible note to you?"<p>

"Probably some student prankster, sweetheart," John said, sipping a tumbler of Scotch while watching his grandson play. "Finals are coming up. They want out."

Leah knew that it wasn't some student prankster but she didn't want to worry her overprotective father. Which was why she had asked Ned to sit down in the lobby while she went upstairs to visit with her family. Sweet Ned, Tony was right he was a good kid… "Daddy, can we talk about something else? How about what you did with Jack this afternoon?"

Jack turned towards his mother and smiled. "The zoo, Mama. I see tigers."

Katherine chuckled. "They were his favorite. Perhaps because his father is always saying 'easy there tiger' to him."

"I'm glad you had a good day, sweetie," Leah said, smiling at her son, softly. She let her fingers slip through his hair. _I wish Mommy and Daddy could say the same. _

"Baby sissy gonna like tigers," the little boy said, rubbing Leah's belly. He kissed it, showing his affectionate for his yet to be born little sister. "Mama? Read to me?"

Leah felt bad that she was making Ned wait any longer getting her home, but she hadn't seen her son since that morning… and it had been a rather emotionally trying day. She pushed herself up off the chair, lifting Jack into her arms and she carried him back to the bedroom where he would sleep for the night. Settling down in an easy chair, grabbing Jack's favorite book, Leah shifted her son on the chair and he squeezed in next to her.

Jack pulled his blanket around his tiny legs and rested his head against her stomach. The last few weeks the little boy had decided his favorite new pillow was mommy's belly. He was in for a rude awakening with the baby decided to make her entrance into the world. It didn't take him long to fall asleep and his mother was just tucking him into bed when her cell phone rang. Jack blinked open his blue eyes and looked at her, a little puzzled.

She rubbed his back while answering, "Tony. I just got Jack to sleep."

"_Thank God, you're at the hotel. Stay there."_

"Why? What's going on?"

_"Someone tripped our alarm…"_

"She's in our house!" Leah exclaimed, her nerves frayed and startling Jack awake. "Tony…" she said, shakily as she gathered her son into her arms.

Tony took a deep breath, "_I'm not letting her get away. Not this time." _He promised her, once again that they were going to stop this woman, and hung up.

Leah wrapped Jack tightly into her grasp. The little boy snuggled against her shoulder and fell back to sleep. Leah couldn't relax as easily as her son. Her thoughts were only focused on that this woman who was turning their lives upside down was in _their _house. What if Tony didn't get there in time to stop her? What if she traced her family back to the hotel? Was she going to try to get to them here?

"Sweetheart?" Katherine called softly, entering the bedroom. "Everything okay?"

"Someone... someone broke into our house," she answered her mother, voice wavering.

"Here, let me take Jack and you go sit with your father."

Leah allowed her mother to take Jack out of her arms and she made her way back out into the living room of the hotel suite. John was seated on the sofa, looking at her skeptically. She knew that his gears were turning and she just prayed he didn't go all overprotective father on her.

He offered her a small smile. "I would offer you a drink if you could have one."

"I'll drink vicariously through you."

"Come sit down, Leah. Before you fall down."

She did as she was told because she was too tired to argue. Her father reached out and put his arm around her. "Sweetheart... I don't know _exactly _what is going on... but it's going to be fine." He kissed her temple for good measure. Leah just wished she could feel as confident as he did... but if she was honest... she was scared that if this woman could get to their house... she could reach her and her baby anywhere.

* * *

><p>Tony knew the moment that they pulled up to his house and the local cops met them... she had gotten away. He inwardly cursed. They had been so close to ending this and... "Did anyone see who broke in?"<p>

"Sorry Mr. DiNozzo, but no," the officer replied with a shake of his head. "Odd... it doesn't appear that anything was disturbed or taken from the house. Except in the nursery... guess we'll need you or your wife to go through and see what is missing."

"Yeah, thanks," Tony muttered as the officer walked away. He let out a little sigh. He didn't need to go through the baby's room to know what Trisha had taken. He could almost guarantee that all of his daughter's clothes, blankets, and toys that were patiently waiting for their owner to be born had been taken.

Ellie broke into his concentration by remarking, "She's getting ready for the baby."

Tony swallowed, clenched his fists as his sides, "Baby isn't due for another three weeks."

"She was options, Tony, of getting to that baby. She could lay low until the baby is born and then try to take her... abduct Leah, wait for her to go into labor and deliver the baby herself...," Ellie remarked.

"What happens if she doesn't want to wait?" Tony inquired, afraid of the answer.

Ellie bit down on her lower lip and nearly whispered, "It's too gruesome to talk about."

Tony was happy she didn't voice it. His nerves were frayed. Trisha was coming after his wife and his daughter. She had already disposed of Delilah... the last pieces of the puzzle remained to be put into place... but those pieces were getting a baby... and getting her happily ever after with Tim. He looked at his watch. It was close to ten, they still had not gotten anything back on the BOLO they had put out for Trisha... Ducky theorized that the woman had abandoned her own car and that it wasn't going to lead them anywhere. Still... they had to try.

He looked at the house, debating whether or not he should tell his wife that their stalker had taken their daughter's belongings. _I'll let her know tomorrow, she's stressed enough... _

"I'm going to call and update Gibbs," Ellie reported. "He's going to want to know Trisha was at your house."

"Guess I should go upstairs and make a list of what's missing," Tony mumbled, leaving the probationary agent's side and entering his house.

The police were right, nothing else had been disturbed. But upstairs he found that the baby's room had been torn apart hastily. All the big items still remained, it was the small things that were gone... the clothes, the blankets, the toys... diapers... it was all missing. Trisha was making her final preparations to get her hands on his baby girl.

Dropping his back down, he pulled out his equipment to dust for prints. When they finally caught up with this crazy woman he wanted all the evidence they could gather against her to throw her ass in jail for a long, long time. He had just finished up when his phone buzzed, pulling it out and looking down at it he saw that it was from Abby. _Come back to the Navy Yard... Tim and I found something!_

* * *

><p>Her nursery was complete. She just had to wait for her baby to arrive.<p>

Breaking into the house had been easy. Finding what she had wanted had been easy. Getting in and out of the house before the cops arrived... that had been the hard part. Even so, she had waited in the darkness of the neighbor's back yard for everything to settle down. Once the police were gone, the federal agents... she had walked until she could find a cab.

Once the cab had dropped her off at her apartment it took her no time to put her baby's things in their proper room. Lindsey and Tommy's baby was going to be properly loved.

She was going to make sure of it.


	8. Shattered

**Warnings: **I'm running out of witty warnings for this...**  
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**A/N: **Being snowed in and having no books to read really gives me time to write. Hope you enjoy!**  
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**amaia- **_Thank you for leaving a review. As for a sequel... I still have lots of story ideas for Tony/Leah, so you can bet there will be more coming when this is done!_

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><p>Tony was nearly pounced on when he entered the lab. Abby was bouncing on her heels, talking so fast that he could hardly understand her. "Whoa! Slow down Abby! What have you got for me?"<p>

She slowed down, but only enough for Tony to understand her. "Tim and I have been digging deeper into Trisha's past. She was arrested for assault at a hospital two years ago... she attacked a nurse in the maternity ward when the nurse wouldn't let her into the nursery to see _her_ baby_. _Tony! She didn't have any baby in that nursery! She hadn't given birth!"

"Not surprising that she has a pattern of violent behavior," Tony quipped. "Did she serve any time?"

"No, the nurse felt awful that she had lost her husband and baby in a car accident," Abby said. "She ended up dropping the charges."

"Good work, Abs," Tony said, turning to go, "It will be great character evidence for the trial..."

"WAIT!" Abby and Tim yelled at the same time, halting Tony. "There's more," Abby said, grinning. "Trisha is known throughout the _Deep Six_ community."

Tony arched an eyebrow in confusion. "_Deep Six_ community?"

Tim frowned, slightly. "Online message boards, twitter, you know social media stuff. We've contacted several of the sites asking for copies of her posts. Ducky has them now and is looking over them to add to his profile. But she honestly thinks that she _is _Twila McGregor. Anyone who disputes that... well... she isn't very nice to them shall we say."

"Did any of those crazy posts tell us _where _she might have left Delilah?" Tony asked, kind of sarcastically.

"No... unfortunately," Abby replied, "But... the car did give us a clue. I found traces of hay and manure in the treads of the tires."

"Great. That's because she drove out to the middle of farm country."

"Exactly. I looked at maps of the area that the car was found... Tony it's only miles from the barn you guys were called to last night!"

Tony had not recognized the area, then again he had been rather cranky and hot and tired the first time he went out there. He ordered them to contact Gibbs if they hadn't already and left, deciding that it was time to check in with Dornerget and his wife.

* * *

><p>Leah tried to get some sleep. Her parents had let her take the smaller bedroom, with Jack, in their suite. But her thoughts kept straying to the break at the house, Delilah missing and a psychotic woman that wanted her baby.<p>

And the television her parents were watching out in the living room wasn't helping in her situation of trying to get to sleep. Actually, the whole being eight months pregnant thing was not helping her get to sleep. She was incredibly uncomfortable, even with a pillow between her legs. Rolling over onto her back she threw her left arm out and realized the _real _reason she was struggling to fall asleep. Tony wasn't there.

She sighed and peered through the dim light. Jack was sound asleep in the portable crib, curled up and looking a little uncomfortable. Maybe it was time for him to get a big boy bed.

Groaning she sat up and flipped the light near the bed on and reached for the small note pad. If she wasn't going to get any sleep that night she was certainly going to get to work on naming her daughter. What she really wanted to do was go out and take a walk to clear her head but she knew that wasn't safe... even with Ned following her around. _Speaking of Ned... its been a while since he actually checked in on me. _

Slipping out of bed, Leah carefully went into the living room, not wanting to disturb her parents who were watching late night television. Grabbing a room key and some spare change, she ventured out into the hall, found a soda machine and snack machine, purchased something, and made her way back down to the lobby.

It was almost empty this time of night, a few stragglers coming and a few patrons at the bar. Leah immediately noticed that Ned was not sitting on the plush sofa, reading, where she had left him ninety-minutes ago when she went to bring him money for dinner. Peeking into the bar she didn't find him there, not that she believed she would... he was a clean cut, sweet kid. She did find a couple of businessmen that frowned at her when they saw that she was pregnant and wearing a wedding band. _Some men can be so disgusting... on a business trip and looking for a nameless romp. _

Leah gasped when a hand came down on her shoulder and she was about to scream when she was spun about but a hand clamped down over her mouth. Her eyes widened but then she slapped the hand away and hissed, "Tony!"

"What the hell are you doing out of the hotel room, alone?" Tony snapped.

"I was bringing Ned a soda and a snack!" Leah shot back, her heart still hammering against her ribcage. "Don't you ever sneak up on me like that again!"

Tony saw the businessmen at the bar looking at them, puzzled, and he took his wife by the arm and led her away. "Leah, please don't make me lecture you on the importance of taking this threat seriously. You have Ned's cell number, you should have sent him a text, have him come up to the suite to meet you."

Leah grumbled something under her breath. "Fine next time I will," she said. "Where is Ned anyways?"

"Sent him home for the night."

"What? Did you just lecture me about wandering around the hotel room without my protection detail only to send him home?"

"I'm going to stay as your protection detail," he replied, heading towards the elevator.

"Oh," she said, softly, letting him gently pull her through the hotel.

Tony silently got into the elevator with his wife, hit the button for their floor and slumped against the wall. It had been an incredibly trying day. They were closer to finding Trisha... Ellie was trying to find a current place of residence so they could get a search warrant. Abby and Tim were digging deeper into her troubled past and Ducky... bless him... was trying to put the pieces of this crazy jig-saw puzzle together. He reached out and gently rubbed Leah's belly.

Leah saw the tension in his shoulders. She knew how much he liked to be in control when it came to his cases... the team had no control on this situation. He had a troubled look in his eyes and she covered his hand with her own. "Tony," she whispered, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left the room. But I promise I am taking this seriously."

He straightened his shoulders and pulled her towards him, planting a soft kiss on the top of head when she buried her face against his chest. "I know," he affirmed, holding her tightly. "Three weeks from now, when our baby girl comes into this world... this will be nothing but a very bad memory."

* * *

><p>Gibbs owed Abby, and Tim, a hundred Caf-Pows when he made it back to D.C.<p>

Delilah had been found ,dazed, dehydrated, and wet in the very barn the team had investigated that skull at the night before. Paramedics didn't seem too concerned when they loaded the young woman into an ambulance and headed towards the local ER. Gibbs on the other hand was worried. But not about her condition.

It appeared she was going to be fine. NCIS had foiled Trisha's plans by finding Delilah, by keeping Leah out of her reach. This was when she was going to get even more violent. Gibbs didn't need Ducky to tell him that. Waiting for the doctor to come out and update him on Delilah's condition, Gibbs heard his phone beep. Pulling it out he saw a text message from Tony. _Warrant came back. Should we go pick up Trisha now? Please? I'm in baby name hell._

Gibbs laughed, silently. When Tony had relieved Ned for the night the team leader figured Leah was going to rope her husband into picking out a name for their daughter. It was probably a welcomed distraction for her.

"Agent Gibbs," a voice said. He looked up to see a doctor approach. "Mrs. McGee is alert and resting. She said you could come in and see her now."

"Did she suffer any serious injuries?" Gibbs asked while they walked towards Delilah's room.

"Mild concussion from the blow to the head and dehydration but other than that, she should be fine," the doctor reported.

Gibbs thanked him before stepping into Delilah's room. She looked up at him with a tired smile. "I hear that Alice and the baby are okay," she said, softly, looking at her hands. "I didn't think that this would escalate so quickly. It was a dumb idea to go to that doctor's appointment without a protection detail."

The team leader sighed. It would not help if they dwelt on what they should have done differently, because there were a lot of things that they could have done differently. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"We were approached by this woman as we got into the car. She forced us to drive out of the city," Delilah said. "We also had to shut our phones off so they couldn't be traced. Once were out of the city she had me pull over and she left Alice on the side of the road. I think we drove another fifteen minutes or so nd then she had me pull over again. After that everything goes blank and I woke up in that barn. Did you find who did this yet?"

"Not yet but we have an identity. She dropped her ID at the crime scene when she abandoned her car," Gibbs replied, firmly. "BOLO's are out and we have a location on her apartment. Tony was speaking to legal to get a search warrant."

Delilah nodded and let out a shaky sigh. "Leah and the baby? She kept... she kept rambling on how she was going to dispose of me, the imposter, and then go get _Lindsey's _baby."

Gibbs tapped his cell phone against his thigh. "Leah is with her parents at their hotel suite, with an agent assigned to her as a protection detail."

"You have to stop her soon, Gibbs. Her violence is going to escalate," Delilah stated.

"Yeah," Gibbs replied, "I'm very much aware of it."

* * *

><p>The apartment complex that NCIS had traced Trisha too was small, slightly run down but not something that would be cited for building code violations. Tony had taken Gibbs' advice and waited for the FBI to send him some back-up.<p>

Adjusting his bulletproof vest, Tony gave the silent signal to Bishop, raised his leg and kicked the door in, shouting, "Federal agents!" In a flash the agents had the apartment swarmed, startling the young couple on the sofa.

"What... what the hell is going on!" the skinny kid on the couch stammered. "Did we.. did we do something wrong?"

"Where's Trisha?" Tony asked, keeping his weapon drawn.

"Trisha? The lady we rent the apartment from?" the girl inquired, confused. "We haven't seen her since we rented the place."

Tony cursed and called the agents off. He holstered his weapon. "Where did she move too?"

The girl shrugged, still shaking. "We don't... we don't know. We send our rent checks to a P.O box."

"Fantastic," the senior field agent grumbled. This had been a giant waste of time and NCIS was going to have to pay for the door to be repaired for nothing. He fished out one of his business cards, "If you hear from her or see her, call me, please?" He apologized for scaring them, once again, and left the apartment, feeling his frustration level rising.

"How did we miss a second property?" Ellie asked once they were outside. "It wasn't in any background checks I came up with."

Tony licked his lips and wiped the sweat from his brow. Another hot day in D.C and another hot day they were chasing this woman. "Did anyone think to check for Twila McGregor?"

Ellie blanched for a second. "Oh my God, no!"

"Let's get our techies on that," Tony said pulling out his cell phone and dialing. "I'm done playing these games."

* * *

><p>Gibbs had come to pick up Leah to take her to the University. Leah was a bit confused that Ned had been relieved. Were they that worried about her? "Am I in trouble?" she joked when she saw the team leader.<p>

He chuckled. "No. Ned is still a pretty young agent, we felt it was better if you had a seasoned vet on your six."

"In that case... hope you like a two hour final."

"Brought my book, Professor."

Leah felt the first real smile form on her face in days. She got into the Charger on the passenger side, moving the seat back a little to fit her growing belly, and dropped her bag at her feet.

Gibbs got into the car, started it up, and directed it into traffic. After Tony's failed execution of an arrest warrant the former marine had decided to take on the task of being Leah's protection detail. Tony could handle the investigating part from NCIS. He was smart enough, capable enough. Gibbs was not worried. He knew that Tony was going to find Trisha, arrest her, and end all of this. Everything would be back to normal soon. And just as the thought crossed his mind, he saw the white van out of the corner of his eye.

Instinctively he reached out and covered Leah's head as the van slammed into them on the passenger side, sending the Charge spinning into a couple of parking meters. Gibbs saw Leah's face, the shock but the horror as she looked at him.

Leah gasped his name, reaching out for him just as he slumped against the steering wheel and the world went dark around him.

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><p><em>Remember I said no babies were going to be harmed in this fic... well I'll say it again, before you all panic, lol, our little baby girl is going to be fine.<br>_


	9. Warpath

**Warnings: **I might have beat up on a certain team leader a bit...**  
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**A/N: **Hello everyone. About to be snowed in for probably two days. I'm ready for spring... but lucky for you, I have a couple of updates ready to go! Enjoy!**  
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><p>Leah felt a surge of panic as Gibbs' eyes rolled into the back of his head and he slumped forward against the steering wheel. Blood was running down the side of his head from a substantial wound. She tried to shift and use the cardigan at her feet to stop the blood flow but a sharp pain shot up her entire body. And then she felt the rush of warm liquid running down her legs underneath her sundress. "No, no, no," she whimpered, tears gathering in her eyes.<p>

It was too soon! And she certainly did not want to give birth in this mangled wreck. She had to get out. She knew that she wasn't really injured. The brunt of the impact had been on the driver's side.

"Ma'am! Ma'am! You really shouldn't move!" a voice shouted at her.

Leah didn't listen. She was fine. Her right arm hurt but the airbags had deployed to cushion her stomach and Gibbs had protected her head. So, she wiggled her way out of the car by crawling through the shattered windshield. Sirens could be heard screaming in the distance. She wondered if they would get here in time. Gibbs was covered in blood.

Again someone was trying to get her to stop moving. Hands reached out as she scooted along the hood and helped her to the sidewalk. "Ma'am, are you sure you're okay?" a man in a sharp business suit asked. "You look a little dazed."

"Of course I'm dazed! I was just in a car accident!" Leah snapped, near tears. She felt the baby shift in her belly and she brought her hands to her stomach, feeling the muscles contract. _Oh God, please, please, no no__. _"I just… I need some air."

"Sure," he said, leading her to the curb and helping her sit down. He still wasn't sure if she was alright but she had insisted on getting out of the car. "Is there anyone I can call?"

Leah looked at the slumped form in the front seat. Her cell phone, and Gibbs, was probably crushed in the wreck. But she knew Tony's number by heart. "Okay, I'll call your husband… but you really should go to the hospital, I mean I don't know how far along you are but... you know... just to have the baby checked out. That van blew through that stop sign pretty fast… driver is pretty beat up himself."

Shadows passed over her face, blocking out the early morning sun. "I'll take you," a female voice said and Leah looked up into the eyes of their stalker. The knife she held left Leah no choice but to go.

* * *

><p>Tony on the warpath was a scary sight Delilah decided. She had seen him angry before but not like this… this was something different and she didn't want to get in his way. She almost felt sorry for the woman when Tony finally caught up with her. Aftter Delilah had been released from the hospital that morning, Tim had been on his way home with her when Bishop called and said that both Gibbs and Leah were in an accident and that witnesses had seen Leah walking away from the scene with a woman that matched Trisha's description. Immediately Tim had turned the car around and headed towards the Navy Yard.<p>

Bishop had updated all the BOLO's at that point, adding Leah to them. An FBI team, lead by Fornell, had raided the apartment of Twila McGregor and found all of Baby Girl DiNozzo's belongings, just waiting for her to come home… only in the wrong house. It made Delilah sick to her stomach.

"She isn't going to hurt Leah… as long as Leah is pregnant with that baby," Ducky announced.

"Where the hell is she taking her then?" Tony growled. It had been incredibly nerve wracking that all it took was a delivery van to run a stop sign to destroy all the precautions they had put in place. "She wants that baby so badly…"

Ducky pursed his lips. "My best guess is she is taking Leah to the ER. Perhaps she will try to convince a doctor to induce labor."

Bishop rocked back nervously on her heels. "Then what? Walk out of the hospital with the baby? Can't Leah just tell the staff in private that she's a hostage?"

Tony blinked, rapidly. "She won't do that… if she thinks keeping her mouth shut will protect our baby… she'll do just that. What she will do is… stall… buy us time to find her. McGee… nearest hospital to the crash scene?"

"Georgetown University," Tim said. "Possible she'd go there because Gibbs was transported to Portsmouth…"

"Farthest one?" Bishop asked.

"Why?"

"Because she knows we'll check the closest one first."

"Ah, well, define farthest?"

"No… what's the closest one to her apartment?" Tony asked.

Tim only took a few seconds to find it. "Holy Cross in Silver Springs."

Tony grabbed his weapon. "That's where she's going."

"Should I call ahead to hospital security?"

"No," Ducky answered for Tony. "They might scare her off and then she _might _do something drastic… well, even more than this."

"Ducky… I want you to go to Portsmouth… keep me updated on Gibbs," Tony ordered as he grabbed his gear and took off with his team. "Let's go, Probies. Playtime stops now."

* * *

><p>Leah did her best to keep a calm facade in place. Sitting in that cold examination room with nothing but a hospital gown on and Trisha humming lullabies to <em>her <em>baby—it was making it incredibly hard.

"So, you were in an accident?" the nurse asked, checking off some boxes on a chart.

"Fender bender," Leah lied, nervously. "Hurt my arm."

Trisha kept humming, rubbed Leah's stomach lovingly. It made Leah shiver which she could write off as being cold in that stark hospital room. The nurse, however, eyed them suspiciously. "And you're concerned about your baby?"

Leah nodded. "I think she got jostled around a little bit. But I just... I just wanted to be sure, you know?"

"She's almost two weeks overdue anyways," Trisha said, temporarily putting a halt on her humming. "We were hoping that a doctor would be willing to induce. My darling little sister's midwife thinks we should wait and let these things happen naturally."

"Induce? I guess I can get a doctor down here to talk to you about that," the nurse said, watching as the older woman went back to her creepy humming. "Not sure if he'll agree to it"

"But she's uncomfortable!" Trisha shouted, glaring at the nurse.

Leah secretly reached out and grabbed the nurse's hand and forced her to look at her. She silently pleaded with her eyes to just do as she was asked. The nurse seemed to get it and made a note on her chart, announced she would go find the doctor and left. As Trisha's stoic look crossed her face once again and she went back to humming, Leah felt pain wash over her and she bit down on her lower lip to stop herself from crying out. _Tony you better hurry… that doctor isn't going to need to induce me._

* * *

><p>"Oh, Dr. Mallard," Pierce Smith greeted him at Portsmouth Naval. "Knew I would be seeing you once Agent Gibbs was brought in."<p>

"You know us well, Pierce," Ducky said with a sad smile. "Tell me, can you give me an update on Jethro?"

"Fractured left leg, four broken ribs, and moderate cranial swelling," Pierce told him, softly. "Docs have him heavily sedated. What happened?"

Ducky took a deep breath. "Delivery van side swiped him. Missed a stop sign. Fortunately, Jethro's passenger was not harmed." _At least not by the crash, _the medical examiner thought, anxiously.

Pierce made some notes on the chart he was looking at. "Silver lining I suppose. Agent Gibbs has a long recovery ahead of him. Glad I won't have to deal with him once he leaves the hospital. Sure you're going to have a hard time tying him down."

Keeping Gibbs tied down was the least of their worries right now, but since there was still an open investigation, Ducky just grinned. "Yes, indeed. Now, Pierce do you mind if I go sit with Agent Gibbs, to keep him company?"

"Not at all."

Ducky took his leave and found the team leader's room. He sat in the chair and looked at his old friend, sorrowfully. "Oh, dear, Jethro. We are in a terrible pickle… once more. Although, I trust that Anthony can pull us through… I'm just not sure what kind of mental state we all will be in. This was a very personal attack against all of us… and yet it wasn't us that was being attacked. At least not in her mind. The human reaction to grief has always fascinated me. Trisha has built up this fantasy world to stave away pain she has from loosing her family. You build boast and drink bourbon… Anthony makes jokes and buries himself in movies…"

Gibbs, of course didn't respond, but his eyeballs moved underneath his lids. Ducky watched him for a moment. "I sincerely hope that when you wake up Jethro I have good news. It has been an awful few days. Perhaps, little girl DiNozzo will make her appearance into this world knowing that we all need a bit of cheering up, because Tony is going to get there in time to save his girls."


	10. Dangerous Levels

**Warnings: **Blood pressure may rise...**  
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**A/N: **Survived the blizzard, stayed warm and comfy inside, read, wrote, and did some cleaning. AND it looks like more snow is coming our way, oh boy :p. I hope everyone is still enjoying this.**  
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**amaia-** _I don't watch Criminal Minds, but I was going for the creepy factor so I guess I did good lol._

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><p>Leah knew that it wasn't going to be easy to keep the game going. Her contractions were getting closer together. And now the nurse was in there asking for a complete medical history. <em>Tony! Where are you? <em> Doctors and nurses were starting to get suspicious, she could see it in their faces—especially when she had asked the ER doctor to "induce" her labor when clearly she was already in labor. But Leah knew how dangerous Trisha was, she didn't want to set her off... and unbeknownst to the hospital staff the crazy lady had a knife.

NCIS had to be looking for her. They had found Delilah… they would find her. Leah just had to keep calm and play along until Tony showed up. It was getting harder though, because Trisha was making her more nervous by the second.

Trisha got antsy whenever a doctor would check on Leah. She didn't like anyone getting too close and when a doctor or nurse would start to ask Leah questions, Trisha would get agitated and shout at them, especially when they called her by her name and not by _Lindsey. _ Leah was certain that the closer she got to delivering the baby the worse it was going to get.

"Have you picked a name yet?" Martha, her warm African American nurse, asked while conducting an ultra sound, "My husband and I had a terrible time naming our second daughter."

"I narrowed it down," Leah confessed, thinking back to the list that she had made with Tony just last night. "Really thought I had four more weeks to decide."

Martha smiled at her. "Babies have a mind of their own. Looks like your little one is in position to enter this world."

Leah licked her lips and clenched her fists underneath the blanket. "Was my labor… was my labor onset by the car accident?"

"It might have helped it along," Martha said, finishing up the ultra sound. "Everything checks out. Now we just wait." She smiled at Leah one more time and got up to leave.

"Sophie," Trisha suddenly said, startling two women. "Her name is Sophie."

Martha glanced at Leah, skeptically for moment. Leah bit down nervously on her lower lip and just simply nodded. If they argued with her, Leah knew that Trisha would go crazy… well, crazier than she already was. Until Tony and the rest of the team got there… her baby girl was going to be called Sophie.

* * *

><p>"Doctor Armand?" a nurse cautioned, stopping him on his rounds. "Can I speak to you for a moment?"<p>

Paul Armand glanced up at the nurse, Martha, who had been working at this hospital for nearly thirty years and knew her patients front to back. He could see that she was concerned about something and usually her instincts were spot on. "Sure. Is there a problem?"

Martha gestured towards the room down the hall. She had been worried about Leah the moment she went in to do the ultrasound, something in her blue eyes just screamed she was in trouble. "You know that young woman that came in, the one who was in the car accident and asked to be induced?"

"Yeah. ER said she was already in labor and that's why they sent her up," Armand replied, making notes on another patient's chart. "Are there complications?"

"Not with the baby. I just finished up an ultra sound with her," Martha replied. "But… there's just something off with them. That older sister is a piece of work, snapping and snarling at me while I checked her little sister out. And every time I call her by her name, the sister freaks out and says that it's Lindsey. Clearly the older sister is making Leah nervous, her blood pressure is high… not at dangerous levels but I don't know how to calm her down unless that older woman leaves."

Armand pursed his lips. He had dealt with over-zealous family members throughout his entire career. "I'll see if I can get her to leave the next time I go pop in to check Leah. Have security on stand-by, just in case."

Martha bit down on her lower lip, nervously. "Okay, Doctor, but I gotta warn ya, that lady is _nuts._"

He chuckled. "Don't worry, Martha," Armand said, moving on to another patient's room, "I think I can handle her."

* * *

><p>Tony drove, recklessly, through the streets of Washington to get to Silver Spring. He couldn't believe how fast everything had unraveled and with the report that Trisha had a knife with her, well, if Leah had that baby before they got there… there was a real possibility that Trisha would walk right out of that hospital with his daughter. Hopefully the doctors and nurses could see that his wife was in trouble and go along with her game… <em>unless… what if she's really in labor? <em> "Hey, can a car accident cause labor?"

Ellie popped up from the back and said, "It's possible. Do you think… do you think Leah went into labor at the crash scene? That's why Trisha took her?"

"I think Trisha was following her to wait for the right moment to strike," Tony grumbled, slamming on the brakes to avoid hitting someone on a bike. "The crash was a lucky break for her, people were concentrated on Gibbs… they were not paying attention to the one that walked away from the wreck."

"Tony… I'm so, so, sorry," Tim mumbled from the passenger seat. "If I hadn't written anymore books…"

"Hey! Stuff it, McGee!" Tony shouted at him, pressing the car on, "none of this is your fault! You didn't ask this psycho to actually believe she's a fictional character, okay?"

Tim gripped the handle by his door and closed his eyes for a moment. He knew that it wasn't his fault, but if anything were to happen to Tony and Leah's baby… to Leah… he would never be able to forgive himself. And would never expect Tony to forgive him… not if this woman tore his family to pieces, destroyed all the happiness he had worked so hard to obtain since Ziva had left him.

Ellie's cell phone rang from the back seat and she answered, talking over the rush of the wind from the open windows. "That was… that was the Silver Spring PD… they were called to the hospital… doctor tried to remove Trisha from Leah's room because he was concerned that she was making Leah anxious, her blood pressure is rising… Trisha attacked him with the knife and is now holding Leah hostage in that room. She says she isn't leaving until she gets her baby."

Tony gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white. He slammed his foot down on the gas pedal, sending the car flying through the city. He was not about to let that woman ruin him—he was not about to let her have his family.

* * *

><p>Panic had fully set in. Leah watched the pool of blood on the floor form underneath the doctor that had tried to help her. If her blood pressure had been high before Trisha had freaked out… it was even higher now. Fortunately, Martha had gotten out of the room before the crazy woman could hurt her… but it wasn't easing Leah's nerves or lowering her blood pressure. <em>Tony… I need you! <em>

Trisha was mumbling to herself while washing the blood from the knife in the nearby sink. Leah had taken some psychology courses during her undergrad years at Boston College, but she wouldn't say she knew enough to know what the hell was going on. Her older sister Lauren was the psychologist—not her.

Her whole body shuddered and her muscles contracted. Leah cried out slightly, fists clenching under the blankets. Her contractions were getting closer together, more intense… her baby girl was coming and fast… and Tony wasn't there. _Tony isn't here! He's not here! _ Tears leaked out of her eyes and down her cheeks. "Please… please don't take my baby," she whimpered.

"You don't want her," Trisha snarled, wiping the knife dry. "You won't love her like I will."

"But I do want her," Leah cried, the tears streaming down her cheeks, "I'm not Lindsey! I want to have a family!"

"SHUT UP!" Trisha shouted, waving the knife at her, her eyes crazed. "I lost my baby once! I am not loosing her again!"

Leah bit down on her lip, stopping her sobs from escaping. Trisha went back to rubbing her belly and humming, but making sure Leah saw the knife in her hand—the ever present threat to her life—and the sign to let everyone know that she was in control.

* * *

><p>"<em>Ducky," <em>Delilah said over the speakerphone, "_Tim just called us. Silver Spring PD was called to the hospital. Trisha killed the doctor when he tried to remove her from the room." _

"Oh dear," Ducky said, his eyes looking at Gibbs' unconscious form. "Is the team there yet? An FBI hostage negotiator?"

"_Tony was going to call," _Abby said, nervously. "_But we talked to the nurse… she says that Leah's blood pressure is too high. Is Leah in danger? I mean more so than she is now with a crazy, psychopath with a knife?"_

Ducky clasped his hands tightly together. "High blood pressure is very dangerous to a mother. If it gets too high it could trigger seizures and without a doctor or a nurse in the room… this is a very dyer situation… for both Leah and the baby."

Delilah sighed and almost whimpered, "_Yeah, t__hat's what we were afraid of."_ She didn't have to voice, all three of them were thinking it... the team had to get to Leah... and get to Leah _fast. _


	11. Uncle Tim to the Rescue

**Warnings:** Hopefully the only one with high blood pressure is Leah... but just in case... tad suspenseful...

**A/N: **Okay, I think I've dragged this out as long as I possibly can lol. Here is the next chapter. Lots happening here, folks! Please, please let e know what you think. Your support has been amazing!**  
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><p>"Special Agent DiNozzo, I'm Lieutenant Lopez. We've evacuated most of the floor, sir," an officer informed him when the team arrived. "The nurse is monitoring your wife's condition from the nurses' station. FBI negotiator is on the way, should be here in twenty minutes."<p>

"Does the nurse think my wife can wait that long without medical attention?" Tony asked, strapping on a bulletproof vest over his polo shirt. "There's more than one life at stake here… not just my wife's."

Lopez shook his head. "The nurse thinks that if your wife's blood pressure doesn't go down soon… she's going to end up seizing and without any trained medical personnel in there… she could suffer serious injuries."

Tony made the decision then that they couldn't wait for the FBI negotiator. Leah and the baby's lives were in danger. He just didn't know what he was going to do. There was no way that Trisha was going to listen to him… _Agent Tommy. _

But she would listen to _McGregor… _Tim stepped forward. "Tony… I… I have an idea," he said, grabbing the SFA by the arm. "Let me go talk to her."

He looked horrified at that thought. "No way, Tim!" Tony hissed. "That woman almost killed your wife and surrogate mother. I'm not about to let you into the room with her all by your lonesome."

Tim frowned. "She won't hurt me. She's doing this because she thinks we belong together—that your daughter is our baby. Please, Tony. Trust me. I can do this. You and Bishop can cover me. She'll listen to me… she thinks she's doing this for _us. _If I can convince her to put that knife down… we can arrest her and get Leah help."

"You could also piss her off and she could stab you," Tony pointed out.

"Isn't that why you made us put these vests on?"

"Yeah."

"And why you'll be there as my backup?"

"Yeah… but…"

"Tony! No buts! This is our best shot! Unless you want to wait for that FBI negotiator."

He didn't have much of choice but to relent. Tony simply nodded his head, watched as Tim handed his weapon over to the officers and started down the hall ahead of Tony and Ellie. It was a terrible feeling, Tony concluded, watching his probie going towards that hospital room unarmed. But as he took up position in the hall just outside the room, Ellie on the other side, he caught a glimpse of Trisha's crazed eyes. Tony glanced at Tim once and gave him a silent nod.

Tim pushed the door open, holding his hands up and calling, "Twila… can I come in to talk?"

* * *

><p>Leah felt her heart pounding so hard she thought for sure it was going to burst right from her chest. She closed her eyes tightly and tried to take deep, calming breathes, but it was useless. She was in a panic-stricken state and the only thing that was going to pull her from this would be for Trisha to leave… to take her knife and leave and stop threatening her baby. But that wasn't going to happen. Trisha was determined to go home with her baby Sophie.<p>

Suddenly the door opened, startling both women, and Tim entered, holding his hands up. "Twila… can I come in to talk?"

"You got my message… Sophie is coming," Trisha said, smiling at him. "I didn't think you would make it in time."

"I wouldn't miss our baby being born," Tim retorted, glancing gently at Leah. "Twila… we need a doctor. Why haven't you let another doctor in to check on Lindsay?"

"The doctor wanted me to leave! He wanted to take my baby from me! She wants to take Sophie from us!" Trisha cried, waving the knife at Leah. "I won't let them!"

Tim shifted his gaze back towards Leah. "Twila, no one is going to take the baby from you. Can I have that knife please? Before your hurt yourself."

Trisha was reluctant to give up the knife. "You promise? They aren't going to take my baby?"

"Promise. They aren't going to take the baby."

She shakily handed the knife to Tim, who put it down on the sink and grabbed his cuffs. He twisted her arms behind her back and snarled, "Trisha McDonald, you're under arrest for the abduction and assault on Alice Malloy and Delilah McGee, and the abduction of Leah DiNozzo. You have the right to remain silent…"

Trisha whipped herself about, screaming, and reached for the knife. "NO! I WON'T LET YOU TAKE MY BABY!"

Tim was thrown backwards into the counter, the knife sliding off and landing in the blood on the floor. Stars exploded behind his eyes as his head hit the cabinet and the room began to spin slightly… he saw Trisha going for the knife and fumbled to reach his weapon… only it was there.

"Don't do it!" Tony shouted, aiming his SIG at Trisha's back. "Don't give me anymore reasons to put you out of your misery."

"Hands in the air!" Ellie yelled.

Tony scooped the pair of handcuffs off the floor when Trisha complied, sobbing. He tossed them towards Tim. "Want to do the honors, Probie?"

Tim rubbed the back of his head and grumbled. "Yeah," he grunted, twisting Trisha's hands behind her back. "We can now add the assault of a federal agent onto those charges," he snarled, snapping the cuffs shut. He grabbed her by the shoulder and led her out of the room, but of course she didn't go quietly, hurling insults at Tony, Leah, and Ellie as she went.

Her eyes were flared wide, lip curled as she was dragged away by Tim and two Silver Spring PD officers. 'You can't do this to me! I will get my baby!" Trisha hollered, her voice echoing down the hall.

"Leah," Tony said, holstering his weapon and going to his wife. "Are you alright?"

"Do I look alright?" Leah whimpered. "Car accidents, abductions and early labor? This is too much for one day!"

"Ok, ok," Tony replied, pushing her hair off of her face. "Please just relax."

Leah glared at him, gulping in large breaths. "Relax? Our baby is coming now! In a room with a dead body!" she sobbed.

Martha entered the room then with a wheelchair. "Tell you what, baby," she said, gently to Leah, "Let's get you a nice, clean room but first… I need you to calm down." She instructed the young woman through some deep breaths and her heart rate lowered, considerably. Martha unhooked Leah from the machines, helped her into the wheelchair and started to push the chair out of the room, Tony following… but she turned and snapped at him, "No guns in my delivery room!"

"Delivery room?" Tony squeaked. "The baby is coming _now?"_

"You better believe it," Martha said, disappearing out of the room.

Tony pulled his holster off his shoulders, handed it to Ellie. "Call Ducky, get him and Jimmy down here to process the scene." He ripped his vest off and threw it at his partner, "And make sure Tim gets examined. He hit his head pretty hard."

Ellie smiled, loop sided at him. "And where are you going to be?"

"Me?" Tony quipped, grinning, feeling the stress melting away, "I'm going to go help my wife have a baby."

* * *

><p>As far as deliveries went, it hadn't been the most difficult, but it had been wrought with moments of worry. Tony knew that the doctor and nurses were doing their best to keep their emotions out of their faces, every time Leah's blood pressure spiked, he could see their fears in their eyes. It made him sick to his stomach and he didn't feel that sickness go away until he heard his baby girl crying.<p>

Leah seemed to relax as well once the wailing infant was placed on her stomach and the nurse started to clean her up. His wife's shoulders eased and she cried happy tears while he cut the umbilical cord. The baby was taken away to be cleaned up and examined, leaving her parents behind. Leah reached for Tony's hand and gave it a squeeze. "She's okay, right?"

Tony brushed a sweaty lock of his wife's hair out of her eyes. "She's perfect, sweetheart," he told her, planting a kiss on her cheek. "I counted ten little fingers and ten little toes."

"Can you see her? Did they take her far?" Leah asked, nervously.

"Yes, I can see her. They didn't take her far," Tony assured her, understanding her fear, after all, their baby had just bee threatened to be taken away from them.

Leah sighed, leaned back against her pillows, and closed her eyes, feeling exhaustion tugging at her. She must have dozed off for a few seconds because Tony's voice was pulling her awake and she opened her eyes to see her husband standing there, holding their little girl, wrapped up in a blanket with a little pink cap on her head.

Tony held their baby up so she could see her mother. "See, say hi to Mommy, princess."

"Hi baby," Leah cooed as Tony shifted the baby into her arms. "We had quite the exciting day didn't we?"

"She's healthy, no complications," the doctor announced. "Healthy weight too for four weeks early… six pounds five ounces."

"Do you have a name for her?" Martha asked, stroking the baby's cheek. "So we can write one on her card?"

Leah smiled at her baby and then looked up at Tony, grinning. "Grace. Her name is Grace Caitlin DiNozzo."

* * *

><p><em>So... baby girl DiNozzo is here... do you like her name? Thoughts? Anything you want to see in the last couple of chapters?<br>_


	12. Grace

**Warnings:** Fluff... wow first fluff warning of this story... I think that is a record for me lol

**A/N:** Wow, everyone has been amazing in supporting me in all of this. I know this is a little different than anything I've written. Story is winding down now, but don't worry I have feeling more will be posted in this verse soon :)

**amaia**- _Trisha isn't coming back, only will be mentioned from this point out._

* * *

><p>Tony stood by the window in Leah's hospital room hours after Trisha had been led away in handcuffs, and handed over to the FBI to deal with. He watched the activity of the city below him, soaking in the smell of the brew of coffee that Abby had brought to him from his favorite shop when she had come to visit.<p>

Leah was sleeping heavily in the bed. Doctors had given her a sedative to help her sleep and relax her after the terrible day she had, even with the birth of their daughter. Speaking of which… he turned and put his coffee down on the bedside table and looked into the bassinet. Little almond shaped eyes looked up at him and his baby girl softly mewed. Tony smiled at her and eased her out of the bassinet into his arms. "I suppose coming four weeks early isn't the only surprise you have in store for your mother and I, huh?"

He bounced the baby in his arms and continued to talk to her. "You look just like your mum," he said, sweetly. "I love you girls, so much. I thought that your brother and I… that we were going to loose you today. Lucky for us, Grace, Uncle Tim is quick on his feet."

Grace stretched her little body. She was much tinier than Jack had been, she was nearly swallowed whole being in Tony's arms, but to her father she was perfect. His little princess.

Tony ran his thumb along her soft cheek, happy and content, feeling secure for the first time in three days. Grace closed her little eyes and drifted off to sleep. He sighed and leaned back in his chair, happy to spend the rest of the night just watching his girls sleep.

* * *

><p>Delilah woke up when the bed shifted and Tim got up. She rolled onto her side and flipped the light on. "Tim? Is everything alright?"<p>

"Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you," Tim mumbled, rubbing his hands over his face. "Just… couldn't sleep."

"It's not your fault."

"I wrote the damn book. It is absolutely my fault, no matter what Tony says."

"You didn't tell her to kidnap three people and murder a man," Delilah snapped, angrily. "As far as I'm concerned the FBI throwing the book at her is less than she really deserves."

Tim sighed and looked away. He had been to the hospital to see Gibbs, who doctors were keeping asleep until the morning, and then he had driven across town to go see Leah, Tony, and the new baby. Despite everything… Tony and Leah didn't blame him… and baby Grace was perfect, just like Tony boasted. But he couldn't help but think if he had just written his book a bit differently… "Part of me feels bad for her."

Delilah gave her head a little shake. There was no part of her that felt bad for that woman. "Why?"

He shrugged. "I knew how she felt… when we couldn't find your or Alice… I knew how it felt to loose my family. We found you and Alice and our baby is fine… but she lost her husband and baby… I'm not excusing what she did… but I can see why she went off the deep end."

"Gibbs lost his family. Did he go off the deep end?"

"I don't know… Tony says he has an unhealthy obsession with bourbon, basements, and boats."

"Better those things than creating a fantasy world…"

Tim knew that she was right but he still… didn't feel tired. He gave her a kiss good night and went to his office, where he grabbed some paper and began to work on his next… and final _Deep Six _book. It was time to close the story in that fantasy world.

* * *

><p>"Boss?" Gibbs' heard Tony's voice, somewhat muffled, calling for him. "Boss? Can you hear me?"<p>

Gibbs struggled to open his eyes. His entire body ached, his head was pounding… what the hell had happened to him? And then he remembered going over to the hotel to pick Leah up, to be her protection detail for the day… the delivery car slamming into their car… "Tony?" he asked, blue eyes flying open.

Tony's face appeared in his blurry vision. "Hey boss! We were worried about you!" he stated with a smile, his voice not as muffled now. "Told the doctors not worry too much though, you're tough, you'll be fine."

"Leah?"

"Leah is fine. Hardly a scratch on her."

"And the baby?"

"She's perfect, boss. Wait until you see her!"

Gibbs blinked his eyes to refocus, Tony becoming clearer in his vision with each blink. "See her? How the hell long was out of it, DiNozzo?"

Tony chuckled. "Just twenty four hours. She, ah, decided to come a bit early."

"I'll say," the team leader drawled. "Does she finally have a name?"

"Grace."

"I'm sure it suits her."

Tony smiled, his eyes happy and bright, yet tired. "It does. Leah says I'm totally in love with her already…guess I'm in trouble, eh boss?"

Gibbs shrugged and grinned. "Nothing wrong with your little girl having you wrapped around her finger, Tony. Besides, Leah will be there to reign in you in if she has too."

"Do you miss her… Kelly… at times… times like this," Tony whispered. "I mean… it's logical to assume that Kelly would have been married with kids by now… you could have really been a Grandpa…"

"Hey, I am a _grandpa,_" Gibbs snapped at him. "Yes, I miss Kelly… every day, but I've got these surrogate kids that refuse to go away and have given me some beautiful surrogate grandkids that I love just as much as my own flesh and blood."

Tony sighed and nodded. "When you get out of here, boss, everyone is coming to my house… for a proper get together to meet Gracie."

Gibbs cocked an eyebrow. "Gracie? You've already nicknamed your daughter?"

"Uh-huh."

"Does your wife know?"

"Ah… not yet."

Gibbs laughed and realized that it wasn't just Tony's little girl that had the SFA wrapped around her little finger… it was his wife as well. "When I get out of here, DiNozzo,you make sure that there is plenty of steaks and beers and have the family over for a cook-out. I think… we all need a little down time, don't you?"

Tony grinned. "Definitely, boss. It's been one of hell of a week."

* * *

><p>Leah was feeling better by the hour. Doctors were confident that mother and baby would be able to go home the following day. Which was good because her room was beginning to get a bit over crowded with flowers and balloons and gifts. However, while everyone else had been down to meet baby Grace, the most important person of all, Jack, had not made an appearance yet.<p>

Her parents had taken turns coming to see her and Grace, Jack had been in a bit of a bad mood when he woke up and found his mother gone the morning of the car accident. But, now that both Katherine and John had seen and met his little sister, the toddler was chomping at the bit. So, after Grace's morning feeding, Tony went to pick him up.

"Mama!" Jack greeted when Tony brought him into the room for his visit. He practically leaped into his mother's arms, despite his father's protests to be gentle. The toddler hugged his mother and then pulled back and scrunched his face up. "Where my baby?"

"She's getting cleaned up to meet you," Leah said with a breathy laugh. She ruffled her son's hair. "Now, listen to me, Jack… you need to be gentle with her."

Jack settled in next to Leah, eagerly waiting the moment he got to meet his baby sister. He had gabbed all the way to the hospital with Tony about how he was going to play games with her and show her all his toys once she got home. Tony didn't have the heart to tell him that Grace would not be a playmate for a while.

Martha came into the room then, holding a sleeping Grace. "Here she is, ready to meet her big brother," she said, slipping the baby into Leah's arms. Grace's little eyes opened and she gazed at her mother, sleepily.

Leah shifted her so she could see her brother. "Look, Grace… here's your big brother… Jack. He used to give you a kiss every night when you were in my tummy."

Tony watched, lovingly, as Jack pulled himself up onto his knees and planted a sweet little kiss on his little sister's head. His son began to talk non-stop to the baby, rubbing her little hands and patting her head gently, every once and an while stopping to give her a kiss. And it hit him then… his family was complete.

"Dada," Jack called to him, waving his little hand. "Come see my baby!"

"She's pretty special, huh, buddy?" Tony asked, moving over towards the bed and sitting on the edge.

"I love you, baby," Jack cooed, kissing her little cheek.

He reached out and wiped the tear that fell from Leah's eye. Tony smiled at her, gently. "You okay?"

She nodded and bit down on her lip. "Better than okay."

Tony kissed away the other tears, and ruffled Jack's hair. He had never felt so much love in his heart than he did in that moment. He had everything he had been searching for his whole life. And he wasn't sure he could be any happier.


	13. Happiness and Relief

**Warnings:** Fluffy

**A/N:** Here's the last chapter for this installment. No worries, I have more in this verse coming. I hope you have all enjoyed this. Please feel free to leave me your thoughts! **Thank you to everyone who took the time to read, leave a review, favorite or follow this story. **

**Guest-** _Glad you enjoyed it!_

**amaia-**_ I love writing sweet Tony.  
><em>

* * *

><p>The heat had broken on the morning that Leah and Grace could go home. Leah had made sure to leave some flowers for Martha, and left a donation in the name the doctor that had given his life trying to help her. It was the least she could do.<p>

Leah dressed her little baby girl in soft, sweet pink overalls and a yellow onsie. Abby's bowling nuns had knitted a blanket for the newborn and Leah swaddled her in it, leaving a gentle, soft kiss on her daughter's cheek. "Are you ready to go home?" She cooed, laying Grace in the carrier and securing her in there. "Mommy is ready. And I think Jack cannot wait to show you your room that Daddy and Grandpa Gibbs spent a lot of time painting and making sure everything was perfect."

"Mrs. DiNozzo," a deep voice said in the doorway.

"Yes?" Leah said turning to see a tall man standing there. "Can I help you?"

"Sorry to bother you, ma'am, but I, um… I'm Trisha McDonald's brother…Matt," he said, nervously. "I know… you probably don't want to listen to me… but I just… I wanted to apologize for my sister's actions. After the crash… she was never the same. If I had known she had gone this far off the deep end… I would have had her committed."

Leah bit down on her lower lip, clutched tightly to the handle on the carrier. She knew that this man wasn't his sister but… she felt extremely nervous around him. Before she could respond, Tony shouldered his way into the room, eyeing Matt cautiously. He stood between his wife and the stranger. "Sweetheart… you okay?"

Matt held his hands up. "Everything is fine. I was just leaving. Again, I'm sorry… I know that probably doesn't mean a thing to you… I'm not excusing Trisha's actions… I'll leave you and your family in peace, Mrs. DiNozzo."

Tony watched him go, turning towards his wife after the man was gone. "Leah?"

"He's Trisha's brother. He… I guess he came to apologize for her… her actions," Leah whispered, tucking the blanket around her sleeping baby.

"Doesn't change anything, Leah," Tony assured her. "I spoke to the U.S Attorney myself. She knew right from wrong. She's competent enough to stand trial."

"I know it doesn't change anything," she replied, still keeping her eyes on the baby.

Tony crossed the room and wrapped her into his arms. He kissed her temple. "Come on," he whispered, "Let's take Gracie home."

* * *

><p>Three weeks later, Washington found themselves drenched with spring rains, and Tim from himself heading towards the doctor's office with Delilah for Alice's latest check-up. Things at the office had slowed down, with Gibbs on medical leave and Tony only working part-time to help Leah with the baby. No one was saying anything but they were glad for the peace and quiet—it meant they could focus on more pleasant things, like their families.<p>

"Mr. and Mrs. McGee," Alice Malloy greeted them, happily, brightly when they entered her examination room. Her hands were resting on her baby bump. "I think today is the day we find out what you're having!"

Delilah wheeled her chair close to the ultra sound screen. It had been wonderful to hear her baby's heartbeat the first time a few weeks ago, now, she was going to get to see her baby for the first time.

Tim stood awkwardly in the corner. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to act in this situation. Tony and Jimmy had talked about going with their wives, holding their hands and having a grand time… but this was different. Someone else was carrying his child to keep his wife safe. "Tony thinks it's a boy."

"And why is that?" Delilah asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Don't know, to be honest, but he does have a fifty-fifty shot," Tim replied with a shrug.

"Well, either way, as long as our baby is healthy, I'm happy," Delilah said, taking Alice's hand.

Tim listened to the two women talking about morning sickness and prenatal vitamins and he tuned it out, waiting for the doctor. He glanced at his watch and noted the time. He and Delilah were going to be heading to Tony's for a cookout. Gibbs was out of the hospital and itching to meet Grace. Both men knew that their boss was going to be head over heels for the little girl. He was busy reading some of the informational posters when the doctor came in and began the procedure.

Delilah slapped his arm a couple of times to get his attention and Tim came back to reality. It was the first time he had heard the baby's heartbeat. _Tony's right… it is amazing. _

"Have we discussed the possibility of a multiple birth?" the doctor questioned.

"Multiple?" Tim repeated. "What do you mean?"

"Well, to insure that Alice got pregnant, they implanted multiple embryos. Alice is carrying twins."

"Are you… are you sure?"

The doctor smiled and nodded, pointing towards the ultra sound screen. She showed the couple the two babies. "Definitely twins. Congratulations, you're having a boy and a girl. Do you want printouts of the ultrasound?"

Delilah overcame her shock faster than Tim. "Yes. That would be lovely."

Tim stood there, dumbfounded. "Twins?" He was barely ready for one baby… now… twins? He gulped and looked at Delilah, who was handling this better than he was. She looked happy. Well, they had been through so much together… they could handle twins. Or at least… he prayed and hoped they could handle twins because there was little they could do about it now.

* * *

><p>"Grampa, come see my baby," Jack greeted Gibbs at the door, taking his hand and guiding him down the hall into the kitchen, which was slow going because thanks to his broken left leg, Gibbs was walking with a crutch. But, he didn't want to disappoint the boy and limped along into the kitchen.<p>

Leah was making a salad but went to help him towards the island where Grace was sleeping in her bouncy seat on the counter. Jack smiled, proudly at Gibbs. "See! Here my baby! Shhh, Grampa, she sleeping."

Gibbs chuckled and gave the toddler's hand a little squeeze. He promised Jack that he wouldn't wake Grace and the little boy ran off to go play. Gibbs reached out and ran a finger down the infant's soft cheek. Tony was right—she looked just like Leah. One little eye opened to gaze at him and he smiled at her. "Sorry, I did promise your brother that I wasn't going to wake you up."

"Don't worry," Leah said, going back to chopping vegetables. "He says that to everyone because we have to keep reminding him to keep quiet while she's sleeping."

"Being two and having a baby sister in the house isn't easy," Gibbs surmised. "How's he handling it?"

"Completely smitten with her," Leah said, laughing. "For now anyways. I bet that changes once she's older."

Gibbs sat down at the island and looked at Grace softly as he eased her out of the bouncy seat and into his arms. It hurt his busted ribs but he didn't care. He had been waiting to hold this baby girl for a long time. Jack was not the only in this little baby's life that was _completely smitten _with her. As he was thinking this thought, Tony came into the kitchen, carrying a bag of ice for the cooler, and noticed that his daughter was awake. The younger man threw a smile at his baby girl and cooed, "Hello, princess, did you enjoy your nap?"

Leah rolled her eyes and with her foot she slid the cooler towards her husband. "Can you tear yourself away from your daughter for a moment and fill this?"

Tony continued to smile at his baby girl, even as he opened the top of the cooler and poured the bags of ice in and then filled it with cans of soda. Gibbs chuckled and bounced the baby a little. _Yeah, Jack isn't the only one smitten. _

"Hey," Abby called, entering the kitchen, her boyfriend Burt, Ellie, and Jake behind her, "Did anyone just get the text message from Tim?"

"No. What did it say?" Tony asked.

"He said that they had _big_ news."

"Big?"

"Yes. We all know about the baby so… what could be the big news?"

"Twins."

The group whirled around to see Tim standing there, eyes wide and slightly shaken. "We're having twins," he repeated with a shake of his head. Immediately everyone was congratulating them and hugging them, and startling little Grace to the point that she let out several shrill cries from Gibbs arms.

Jack, alerted to the scene by the cheers, came rushing in and put his finger to his mouth and with a stomp of his foot, shushed the crowd. "Shhh! My baby is sleeping!" Everyone laughed, softly at him but quieted down.

Abby picked him and peppered him with sweet kisses, even as protested, slightly. "Sorry, little man, we were excited about Uncle Tim and Aunt Delilah's babies."

"Aunnie have baby in her belly too?" Jack asked, looking at Delilah.

"No, the babies are in someone else's belly," Delilah told him.

"Ok, well, now that we've completely confused him," Tony said, ruffling his son's hair, "Let's get these steaks on the grill and start celebrating."

* * *

><p>After all their company left, and Jack was sound asleep for the night, Tony found Leah upstairs in Grace's room, rocking her. "I thought you both would have been out cold by now," he said, leaning against the door frame.<p>

Leah smiled at him, sleepily. "She's been out for about twenty minutes. I'm too tired to get up and put her in the crib."

Tony crossed the space and gently took the baby out of her arms. He brought Grace to her crib, laid a soft kiss on her forehead and gently laid her down. She fussed slightly but he rubbed her stomach and got her back to sleep. As she drifted off his cell rang, disturbing her again. Tony looked at his wife apologetically. Leah got up from the rocking chair and waved him away to go answer the phone while she took over comforting Grace by rubbing her belly.

"Yeah, Fornell, what is it?" Tony snapped when he answered the phone. "This better be good… you woke my daughter up…"

Leah watched as a dark look came over his face, peaking her curiosity. When he hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket, she asked, "Is everything okay?"

Tony licked his lips and put his hands on his thighs. "Trisha McDonald was found dead in her cell this morning. Suicide. She hung herself."

"Oh," she breathed, looking down at a sleeping Grace. Tears burned her eyes. For what reasons she really wasn't sure… relief? _That's awful to think, someone is dead. _

"Leah," he whispered, reaching out and taking her arm in his hand. "It's okay. She really can't hurt us now."

"I know."

"Come here."

She let him pull her into his arms and she snuggled against him. "I love you."

He kissed the top of her head and sighed, "I love you, too."


End file.
